In fact He adores you and longs to hear about anything you face. He won’t mind if you tell Him exactly what you’re feeling. He’s a strong God, after all, who doesn’t get miffed or offended when you come to Him in the middle of emotional upheaval. You have that kind of audience with Jesus too. Don’t you know who I am?” Jesus accepts Martha where she is, as she is, and listens to her tirade without batting an eye. He doesn’t say, “‘Make your sister come and help you?’ Listen here, girlie, you do not get to speak to me that way. How interesting that Jesus doesn’t rebuke Martha for her words. Martha learns you can tell Jesus anything. Sometimes we can be tempted to share our problems with everyone else – prayer requests, social media, mom, the bestie – when the wisest thing to do is to approach the One who can actually fix things first.
There’s something to be said for knowing who can help. Martha marches right up to the highest authority in the room and commands Jesus, “Make my sister come and help me.” When she gets disgruntled by the unfairness of her situation, she wastes no time. Martha learns to go to the best Source first. And comparison doesn’t change her story or yours. Truth is, no matter how it looks on the outside, God is at work in every story. And just like the smiling Christmas photo that never hints at the pre-pose argument or the toddler’s screaming fit right afterward, we miss the rest of the story too. When we look at someone else’s life, we only catch a snapshot.
#Martha meaning in bible full#
Isn’t that the same kind of trap we get caught in sometimes? When I look at “her” life with those big, happy smiles on social media or the beautifully “perfect” children or the bigger, nicer house than mine, discontent perches on my shoulder.Ĭomparison is a trickster, though, because he never tells the full story. I can just hear Martha’s frustrated thoughts: How dare she do this to me? My own sister! Doesn’t she see that I’m doing everything on my own?!Īnd that’s where discontent begins – when Martha compares her current life to someone else’s and realizes she’s holding the short straw. Never mind the dust bunnies or the random socks.īut there’s just one problem: here’s poor Martha trying to serve dinner for fifteen or more with zero help! She flies past the living room and sees her sister out of the corner of her eye, and that’s the last straw. Because true hospitality wraps a person up in a grace hug and makes them feel special. Welcoming people into your home is a gift – a gift worth sharing, whether the place is pristine and decorated to perfection or not. Never mind if there are jelly blobs turning crusty on the counter or a toilet that begs for a cleaning wand. Mary knew true hospitality is always in style. Come to think of it, we can learn a few things from Mary and Martha. She eagerly invited Jesus in and showed Him the kind of authentic hospitality that throws the door wide and serves the best I have. It doesn’t seem that Martha was too worried. So, if Jesus were out front, would you have the forethought to invite Him in for dinner like Martha did? And if you drummed up the chutzpah, what might come next? Would you worry about the curtains? Or your dusty wood floors? Or the threadbare couch? Or the dog hair covering the pillows? She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.
She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. ( Luke 10:38-42)Īs Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. Can you imagine opening your front door to find Jesus on the sidewalk, chatting with His disciples? I picture a scene a little like this when I read the story of Mary and Martha.
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