Are You Seated At His Feet?

“Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.”  (Luke 10:42, TPT)

You told them that dinner would be served, at 6:00 pm. Here it is 5:50, and the meat is still in the stove, needing an additional 20 minutes to finish cooking. The vegetables aren’t quite ready, and you still have to put the rolls in the oven. The table has not been set, and you need to shower and dress. Well, forget the shower and just change clothes.

Does this scenario sound familiar? Have you found yourself in this position at one time or another? Well, this is the predicament Martha of Bethany has found herself.

Let’s read her story.

Jesus and His Disciples come into the village. As they enter the gates, two women, Martha and Mary, greet them. Now, these ladies were no strangers to Jesus; for you see, they were intimate friends, and they and their brother, Lazarus, would often entertain Him. So, it would be out of the ordinary if the invitation were not extended on this occasion.

When they arrive at the home, Martha immediately goes into the kitchen and starts preparing for her guests. Jesus, Mary, and the others proceed into, what we’ll say the gathering room, and Jesus sits down with Mary taking her seat at his feet. While she is sitting there, Jesus begins to expound and reveal truths of the Kingdom. And Mary, like a sponge, soaks up every word, taking in every syllable, every period, and every comma. This posture was Mary’s comfort zone. Every time we see Mary, in the scriptures, she is sitting as Jesus’ feet.

In John 11:32, she went to Him and fell at His feet saying, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” In John 12:3, she took precious oil and anointed His feet. Now here, in Luke 10:39, she is attentively listening, at His feet.

Martha, on the other hand, was distracted by her many tasks. However, somewhere between stirring the greens and kneading the bread, she realized that she was in the kitchen alone. With haste, she stopped everything and came running out, approaching Jesus and said, “Lord, don’t you think it’s unfair that my sister left me to do all the work by myself? You should tell her to get up and help me.” At that moment, Jesus looked at her and said, “Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won’t take this privilege from her.”

Well, what can you say to that?

Martha had forgotten that she was the one who invited Jesus and His disciples. Did she not think, as the words were leaving her lips, that nothing had been prepared, that she or someone would have to fix a meal? Surely, as with the other times, she should have known that Mary would be sitting at the Teacher’s feet spellbound by what He had to say.

How many times have we found ourselves caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, unable to take the time to sit at Jesus’ feet? Or, how many times have we been so consumed with making the table look good and preparing the meal that we disregard our guests?

Distractions can come so easily that if we are not careful, they will lure us from that place of intimacy, if the distraction is our service to God. We can fill our plates with a variety of portions of serving –– the Usher Ministry, the Missions Ministry, and the Praise Team. The Hospitality Ministry, the Greeter Ministry, the Nursery, Children’s Church, and the list can go on and on. Jesus wasn’t suggesting to Martha that there was no Kingdom work to be done. He was saying that when you put more energy into doing work than you put into developing the relationship with Him, your priorities are misplaced.

Mary had chosen the most important thing –– relationship. She understood that “Bread alone would not satisfy, but true life is found in every word, which constantly goes forth from God’s mouth.” (Matthew 4:4, TPT)

God does want us to serve Him. In fact, Jesus said that we would do “greater works.” But we should not do these works at the expense of compromising our relationship with Him.

If lately, you are doing more for God than with God; then, now is the time to do a spiritual reevaluation. For you see, it’s not so much what goes on the table, but it’s more about who sits at the table.

Join me next week for more Coffee on The Couch.