Don't Cook, Cater!

Luke 10:38-42
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.

39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.

40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.

41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:

42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

Martha was likely a widow, the eldest sister, and she probably owned the house which is why it was her prerogative to invite Jesus into her home. Who knows what went thru her mind when she heard Jesus was coming thru Bethany? Who knows what household chores she had to push aside to rush out the door to catch up with him? Perhaps she had to push past friends and neighbors who wanted a minute of her time. I can only imagine what all it took to “receive him into her house”.

The word “cumbered” in verse 40 literally means “pulled away” and “pulled apart”. So Martha finally has HIM in her house but she gets so busy she feels “pulled away” from the excitement happening with Jesus. And she has so much to do she’s feeling “pulled apart”. I believe if she would have asked what He wanted, (catered to HIS needs) instead of doing what she thought was best (cooking for an army) He would have said, “I’d like nothing better than for you to sit right here by Mary.” As a matter of fact He did say that without her asking! Jesus said, “one thing is needful”. In other words He was saying, “I don’t need those things you’re driving yourself crazy over. I need YOU here with me.”

Here I am, sitting at my computer writing & recording. There you are possibly sitting at your computer reading this blog, or if you’re like me, your listening to this audio blog on your iPhone while you fold laundry, or run errands. Regardless, we can hardly relax in our multi-tasking world because we’ve got so much to do. Here we’ve worked so hard to have a godly home where Jesus feels welcome. We’ve got the Family Bible sitting out in the open. We tuck our children in bed with a prayer. We really have JESUS in our home but we’re so “cumbered”. We’re so pulled away from Jesus because we’re doing so many really good things! And we’re so busy & stressed by the good things that we feel like we’re being “pulled apart”; as they say, “coming apart at the seams.”

Let’s be responsible and take care of our families, our houses, our families education & growth, our commitment to our local church; but cater to Jesus’ needs first – and all He needs is for you to sit at His feet!

Hear the audio blog @: http://deneerichardson.com/#/audio-blog/4532364166