February 03, 2022
Daily Devotion:
"Nothing Else Comes First"
Luke 10:40
But Martha was busy with all the work to be done. She went in and said, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me alone to do all the work? Tell her to help me.”
Have you ever found yourself in a situation of being so responsible, so dutiful, so correct in your religious practice that you lost your joy of knowing God?
In the famous parable of the lost son (Luke 15:11-32), A Young man rejects his father's teachings and authority, demands his inheritance, and heads for a distant land where he squanders his financial and moral wealth. The loving father never gives up on this prodigal, and when his young son does come to his senses and ashamedly returns home, he welcomes him with open arms. He honors him with a feast, a party, a special cloak, and a golden ring. The older brother, who has faithfully stood by his father's side this whole time, is enraged that the prodigal should receive such a welcome. The father sadly reminds this older son that you don't have to work in a pig sty like his younger brother did to have a piggy attitude. Both sons learn about forgiveness and reconciliation from the love of their father.
In our study passage, we discover that Martha, much like the older brother, holds deep resentment toward a younger sibling. No, Mary is not immoral and rebellious, but she certainly doesn't have Martha's sense of responsibility. She leaves the dishes and chores to her sister so that she can sit at Jesus' feet. Wouldn't you feel a little resentful, too?
Jesus' answer to Martha's demand that He tell Mary to get busy is: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen they better thing, and it will never be taken away from her"(vv.41-42). Is Jesus' point that we not care for the maintenance of our homes and families? Of course not. But He does remind us that the heart of our faith, our reason for living, is to love and worship God. Nothing else comes first! And the details of life those areas in which perfection is elusive even to a Superwoman- are all secondary to our relationship with God.
