Having a Mary Spirit

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." {Luke 10:38-42}
The truth is that we have all heard this before. We know the story. But the lesson learned is SO important that we need to hear it again...and again...and again. I would like to say that I have both a Martha and a Mary spirit within me. But I also know that I probably have a bit more Martha in me then Mary. I tend to serve...to do do do...both in my church and in my life. I KNOW that I need to spend time at Jesus' feet...but the busier I get with other things, the less time I am in prayer or in the Word.

"But what stood out most to me was the fact that when Jesus scolded Martha about her busyness, He wasn't condemning her efficiency and hard work or her can-do personality. He wasn't telling her she had to be just like Mary to please Him. Jesus simply didn't want Martha to be so caught up in kitchen service for Him that she missed out on the joy of living-room intimacy with Him." {Joanna Weaver}
This is one of those lessons that keeps coming back to me. The Lord often has to remind me...to nudge me and whisper "a little bit more of a Mary spirit, Pamela." More intimacy. And the truth is, the better the intimacy...the better the service.