One More Thing

Last Sunday, Gregg spoke about investing our lives in the one thing that will make the biggest difference in our lives—pursuing a relationship with God. Gregg gave me the opportunity to share some thoughts as well. Here’s a little peek at what we discussed.

As a vital part of our relationship with him, God invites us to join in conversation with him through prayer. I received a new little devotional for Christmas, Experiencing God Day By Day. To my surprise, today’s thought was similar to what we shared on Sunday:

“God gave us prayer so we could have conversation with him, but we often distort this by “saying prayers” and hurrying off without ever listening to what is on our Father’s heart.”

Luke tells a story that illustrates this idea. It’s a story about two sisters who had the privilege of hosting Jesus, yet each responded differently during their evening with Jesus:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. 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 only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:38-42)

I can identify with Martha. I’m task oriented and enjoy being productive. In fact, my sense of responsibility can actually hinder me from relaxing and enjoying an event. Martha’s problem wasn’t her productivity or commitment to excellence; it wasn't her work ethic or sense of responsibility. She was distracted. That evening at their home, Mary and Martha both had a choice to make as to how they would invest their time.

Martha was so busy serving and producing that she was unable to enjoy and appreciate the presence of Jesus in her home. Mary chose the one thing—the important thing. Mary chose to break away from the busyness, to pause and listen to what was on her Father’s heart. And when the evening was over, she received something eternal that could never be taken away from her.