But the Lord said to her, "My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42
One of the most captivating things about Jesus is that He flips our view of what is important and what is not upside down. This is true when it comes to our lives. The jobs we have, the money we earn, the possessions we own, the things people think about us, and many other things are not important to Him. When we really look at it, what matters to Him is how we serve and love Him and how we love people. This truth is discovered in Luke 10.
Luke 10 records a story of two sisters, Mary and Martha. In this story, Martha is preparing a meal for all of them, while Mary is sitting at Jesus' feet, learning from Him. Frustrated from her sister's lack of help with meal preparation, Martha went to Jesus, saying, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me" (verse 40). Very quickly, Jesus gently reminded Martha that one thing matters the most and that one thing cannot ever be taken away: intimacy with Jesus. When this becomes the priority, everything changes. The stresses that seem overwhelming fade in the background of knowing and loving Jesus. The things that we are anxious about suddenly become less important. All of these things fade away in light of what is the most important: having a deep relationship with Christ.
Have you been feeling overwhelmed with stress lately? Maybe what you need is a shift in focus. Maybe what God is calling you to do is to concentrate on what truly matters: loving God and loving people (Matthew 22:27-40). Then, the other things that are causing us to feel stressed and anxious will not seem so heavy or burdensome. Christ truly is our treasure and our greatest reward.
On your wrist or a notecard, write the words, "Love God; love people." If you have chosen to write this phrase on a notecard, place it somewhere you will see it often. Every time you see this phrase you have written down, remember that these two things are the very most important things you can do with your life. Stressing over the little things in life leads us nowhere good. Focusing on what is truly important brings peace and confidence.
Read Luke 10:38-42 (NLT)
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”
But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
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