The Better Thing
- Amber Sequeira
- Jun 19
- 4 min read
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.” Luke 10:38-42 NLT
Routine wakes me up as the birds sing into daybreak and as soon as my feet hit the bedroom floor, I'm rushed into doing. I enjoy what I do - preparing daily meals, listening to a podcast, completing courses, hitting the tennis court with clients, running errands, catching social media breaks in-between, and more. There are days that are busier than others and it feels as though time speeds up when the sun rises, always rushing me into "what's next on the to-do-list". Rest often looks like a night of sleep most days, and even then they can be restless..
I often think of myself as Martha. With the demands of life, spending time with the Lord can become last on the list. This is a reality and it saddens me so! Sure, we are living in a Martha world - social media never sleeps, neither does work, and the demands of balancing home life with relationships and your career is a typical equation of modern society. Time is flying by because life is consumed with doing and more.
In the passage above, Mary's response to Jesus really surprised me at first. Naturally, I would serve the Lord just like Martha if He was in my home. I guess so many of us would! But looking closer there lies a treasure that can change everything. Martha was good and faithful with her work, something that Jesus never discounted. He values our time serving and heart behind it. But, clearly her work frazzled her - she was worried and angst, and it resulted in conflict with her sister and her rebuking the Lord. We can all relate to this - so many things to do, such little time to do it in, and all carried on one set of shoulders.. a stress recipe, right?
Treasure #1: The better thing is to receive.
But, Mary listened. Martha complained. Mary sat. Martha served.
Mary was humbled by the King. Martha boasted in her works for the King.
Mary saw Jesus. Martha saw her burden.
Herein this story lies such truth about defining rest - the kind that stills your soul, heart, mind, and spirit:
Rest is restoration. Rest is stillness. Rest is to receive. Rest is the opposite of work.
How do we achieve rest when there's so much to do? We do what Mary did - we sit & listen.
The Word of God is still so underrated. Even as we become more familiar with passages, do not discount the fresh perspective the Holy Spirit can give you. The Word of God is rest for our souls, hearts, minds, and spirit.
Just like Jesus said, Mary discovered the one thing to be concerned about, and that was she found her King, her Messiah, her Saviour. She had a revelation that the very words of Christ were enough to live by and enough to be close to. They completed her worth, they answered deep questions within her, and they sustained her. In her society, it was good and right to serve, be a home-maker, and be fruitful with her gifts - but she chose something better than this. It is so simple, many will miss it:
Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth! Psalm 46:10 AMPC
The same Mary who let her concerns be, sat at the feet of Jesus, and listened to Jesus, the Son of God, was the same Mary whom Jesus weeped with at the death of her brother Lazarus, and the same Mary who broke the alabaster box of perfume and anointed His feet with her tears for His burial. Do you see it?
Intimacy with Christ is discovering that at the feet of Jesus there are treasures far more valuable than the work of our hands and cares of our hearts. Perhaps knowing the value of Christ is coming close to Him...
He is all we need, all that is better, all that is beautiful and worth receiving from. From this place of rest - letting be, being still, and knowing God - is where our anointing flows from. And it goes further than ourselves and poured out as a beautiful, pleasing, and highly valuable gift back on to the feet of Jesus. It isn't forced, it isn't a priority, it isn't a checklist. It's close. It is a response of time spent with the King.
Mary's position was always silent and always close. She never defended herself to Martha. She never defended herself when the disciples accused her of wasting such expensive perfume. Instead, she lowly came before her King and He spoke for her. He gave of Himself and she received all of Him. Her focus was solely on the One Whom she sat by ~ the better thing that would never be taken from her...
This is where change begins and ends.. If life had a name, it would be Jesus. If rest had a name, it would be Jesus. If anointing had a name, it would be Jesus. Open your heart to receive from our precious King and you will come to know and understand the better thing. Treasures lie at His feet friend, are you paying attention to what He is saying?
Commenti