We live in an era where multitasking, meticulous planning, and precise execution are much-needed assets. To be honest, in the modern world, “human beings” have been transformed into “human doings.” And by that, I mean there is much emphasis on striving hard and achieving goals and getting our priorities right has become quite a challenge.
Are we too focused on what we do, to the extent that we ignore the larger picture – “Eternity”?
Luke 10: 38 -42
“38 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore, tell her to help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. 42 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
The above passage describes two sisters, Martha and Mary, each with their own agendas for the day Jesus visits their home. Martha, a diligent hostess, opens her home to Jesus and offers selfless service. However, little does she realize that it is weighing her down spiritually. She gets overwhelmed by her tasks, unable to engage in the moment when the Messiah visits her home. Verse 40 says that “she was distracted with much serving” and goes to Jesus complaining.
Mary, on the other hand, “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His Word”. She realized that the Creator of the universe was over to visit her lowly home and used every minute of His stay. Maybe she felt the void in her soul that needed to be filled with the Living Word. Jesus reinforced her action saying, “one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part”, and added that “it will not be taken away from her.”
Later, disaster strikes this household when their brother Lazarus dies. Mary once again runs to her place of confidence, which has now become her place of solace – “the feet of Jesus.”
John 11:32
”Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”
Also, from John 12: 1-8 we see that Mary realizes that it was essential to anoint the Lord’s feet, when he revisited their house at Bethany before the Passover. .
John 12 :3, 7
”Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
But Jesus said, “Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. ”
By spending time and listening to the voice of Jesus, she must have been in tune with God’s plan. It was something that even Jesus’s close circle of disciples were finding difficult to comprehend ahead of time.
Seeking Jesus’s feet is an act of humbling oneself, surrendering to the will of God in complete obedience, and trusting him with the hidden future. In John 13:5, we read that Jesus washed his disciples’ feet; the Son of God humbled himself. During happy moments Mary sat at the feet of Jesus, listening to him. In times of trouble, she knelt at His feet for help. Through divine wisdom, she could perceive the need to anoint Jesus’s feet in preparation for His death.
At His feet
As day breaks, I wake up with numerous things on mind
Stumbling along the way, the list of chores remains lined.
The days and weeks pass by without anything unique
Months and years roll on, untouched by the mystique.
I struggle to achieve deadlines, multitasking at speed
While I remain oblivious to my soul’s great need.
So much more to be done,
Before the next day has even begun
I barely make it to the wellsprings
A challenge, it remains.
As I draw near His feet for a moment’s rest
In the quiet and still, He inspires me to be my best!
Prayer
Lord, if we are so preoccupied with the here and now and have lost sight of eternity, please forgive us. Help us to sit at your feet and heed your still, small voice through life’s mundane and busy moments.
