Be A Mary

Dear Friends,

This past week our family had the opportunity to enjoy a few days of vacation. As part of our relaxed schedule, I was able to spend more time in prayer and reading my Bible. The result was a much more content and peaceful me. About halfway through the vacation, I thought, “I wish I had this extra time at home to read and pray.” And that’s when I was reminded of something my dad told me when I was teenager: “One of the greatest dangers in life is to let the urgent things crowd out the important things.” In other words, we can’t let the busyness of life keep us from taking time for what is most important - and for Christians, that's God.

Jesus regularly reminds us of this truth. For example, in Luke 10 He tells the story of two sisters - Mary and Martha. At one point in the story, Martha becomes frustrated with her sister, Mary, for sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha did all the work. When Martha complains to Jesus, He replies to her with, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42). Jesus was essentially saying, “Listen, Martha, I appreciate your desire to work. But there is a time to work and there is a time to sit at My feet. Mary has figured out which is more important.”

It’s easy for us to get so wrapped up in the non-essentials of life, that we don't get to the essentials. And all too often we do so with the unspoken expectation that it really doesn't matter because we'll always have time for the essentials tomorrow. But that’s not how God calls us to live. He wants to be the essential thing in our life - each and every day. So today, let’s ask God to help us make that happen. Let’s ask Him to readjust our priorities to do what's essential first, and leave the non-essentials for afterward. Let's make sure we spend time sitting at the feet of our Lord - hearing from His word, and worshiping Him before we do anything else.

Amen?

Daniel