JESUS, DESIRES YOUR ATTENTION EACH DAY

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Luke 10:38–42 (ESV)

 

¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ² So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. ³ Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. ⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, ⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” ⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. ⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.

John 12:1–7 (ESV)

 

Let’s look at a little background on the first reading and get an understanding why Jesus said ‘Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’ From the reading we are told Martha was actually the one who welcomed Jesus into their home. Unfortunately, there are no further details for us to know whether after providing Jesus with a seat, she asked why He (Jesus) was visiting. This is the first time Jesus visited their home and made friends with them. However, we know that she entered the kitchen and tried to find something for our Lord to eat. Jesus needed to be entertained as a guest of their home, so instead of all two sisters going to the kitchen, Mary choose to sit with our Lord and listen to Him. Martha is not being condemned here because Jesus never condemned her either. Let’s take it that, she was just excited to see the most talked about gentleman of the day come to their home. Put yourself in her shoes and picture what am saying. I don’t know if you have ever watched ‘Coming to America – Part 1’ starring Eddie Murphy as the lead character. You will notice a similar situation. When King Jaffe Joffer and the Queen visited the Amos family (that is Prince Akeem’s father-law to be), the man was over excited his daughter had hit the jackpot in bringing a crown Prince home. He wouldn’t even sit to listen to the purpose of their visit. Brethren, that was the state Martha was in, to be visited by the most talked about Rabbi in the whole of Judea and its surroundings.

Now, let’s bring it home. Many of us are like Martha one way or the other. You are probably the first to receive Christ Jesus in your family or community, or let’s say you are a starter when it comes to matters of spirituality or people even looked up to you because of you love for church and spiritual matters. However, after you opened that door and Jesus walked in, you became very complacent and left our Savior for others. Sometimes, it’s because of pride of a particular sin you are unwilling to let go. Am not even referring to sins like murder, adultery, stealing or those alarming ones that will let us drop our jaws. For the jaw-dropping ones, it is easy to identify. I am referring to the ‘hard-to-let-go’ ones, that everyone around you notices except you. What Paul talks about in Ephesians 4:31–32 (ESV). He writes “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice”. You will find another example also in 1 Timothy 6:4–5 (NCV); “This person is full of pride and understands nothing, but is sick with a love for arguing and fighting about words. This brings jealousy, fighting, speaking against others, evil mistrust, and constant quarrels from those who have evil minds and have lost the truth. They think that serving God is a way to get rich”.

The other Martha’s we have in the body of Christ are those who can preach better than their Pastors or sing even much better than the choristers, therefore when service is on-going they are busy talking to another person or seriously checking their phone. They have talents but will not sing in church or be an usher or even teach the little children while their parents are in the big church. Some even go to the extent of checking their time several times and start mummering. Brethren, there are more of such negative attitudes which does not speak well of us as children of God. That breakthrough you have been praying and trusting God for, for months and years, sometimes are due to these prideful sins we are holding on to. You might be making some little progress, which the devil has blinded you to think that is fine, it’s all good, don’t worry. You have been blind folded by the devil, that you cannot receive healing and you have also believed it. Brethren, do not entertain the devil and his lies, God has given you power and authority. Check Luke 10:19 (ESV) and resist the devil. For He says, “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” I will also encourage to go into your secret closet, cry out to the Holy Spirit to expose every hidden sin in your life and ask him to fill that empty spot with his power. My brother, my Sister, if you come out of that secret closet the same, send me a mail and tell me nothing happened.

Now, let’s focus our attention on Mary and why Jesus said she has chosen the best part. Taking from the second reading (John 12:1–7), we notice the action of Mary when Jesus visited them the last time before going to the Calvary. She pours an expense ointment on Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her hair; causing Judas Iscariot to complain. Brethren, Jesus is God and He is all-knowing, and therefore knew that Mary would perform this act of reverence in the future. Mary gave all her attention to Jesus when He visited them. I want to believe while Mary was listening attentively to Jesus, He was revealing secrets to the Kingdom of God and His purpose on earth. Jesus in John 6:35 said “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”. Mary just lost count of time and even anything about food while she was sitting under Jesus’ feet.

Brethren, if we all learn to spend time in the presence of Jesus, that is fellowshipping with Him, He will reveal many things to us. We have dealt with promises in the scriptures and how to claim them (you can check previous episodes for them). All these promises belong to you and me, but very few of God’s children sit quietly before Jesus and ask Him to open our eyes to these promises. We all do say those quick-short prayers when we get out of bed, going to sleep or moving the car or about to have a meeting in the office or group at the church, and all that. That is not the reference point. I am referring to you going to a quiet place and spending time alone with the Lord. Going on prayer walks in the garden, or taking your next vacation to a sacred ground not as a tourist, but as a pilgrim. You know, we read in Mark 1:35 that “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” This is the son of God, going to fellowship with His Father. This was his lifestyle. Is prayer a lifestyle to you or it’s just a burden. If you give Jesus your time, He will also give you all the attention you need and reveal secrets to your future. For He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

Another thing Mary did was, she gave all she had; the expensive oil she poured on Jesus’ feet and with all humility wiping Jesus’ feet with her hair. I can picture her saying, “this life, you gave it to me, you can take it back anytime”. For Judas, the Minister of Finance to complain about the oil, then brethren, truly Mary surrendered the most expensive material possession and herself to our Savior as well. In all this, the apostles up till know had still not gotten the clue that their Master was going to Jerusalem to die for humanity. He even mentioned it again while Judas was complaining, by saying “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.” Unfortunately, they still did not get it. That is how we can be lost in the house of God if our attention is not fixed on Jesus but rather issues like, why is the Pastor delaying today, why is the music not good today, why do we have to take second offering, and all that.

Brethren, we can also be so busy with life, running around all over the place and forget to spend quality time with Jesus. Sometimes we preachers are even culprit. We are busy focusing on issues or matters that can be delegated, rather than focusing on the spiritual growth of the church. Peter said in Acts 6:2–3 (ESV), “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.” Mary teaches today, how important Jesus was to her, by giving all her time, the most expensive gift and surrendering her will to Him. Is Jesus equally important to you? What do you also have to offer Him for the rest of the year and beyond, beginning this Easter season?

Shalom and Peace to you.

 

Maurice Luther

Founder the Christian Migrant Network

thechristianmigrant@gmail.com