Yet another reality check

It shouldn't startle me when I come across a verse that meets me exactly where I am.  After all the Word is living and active, a double edged sword that pierces our soul and discerns the thoughts and intentions of our heart (Hebrews 4)- that in and of itself is something worth blogging about, but that's another day.  So remember a couple days ago when I said I was stressed about Christmas and even bitter that other people had their Christmas decorations up?  Well the Lord since then has been using His Word to convict me about my ranting and raving- getting so caught up in the non essentials of Christmas and making those a priority over Him.  I mean, even on our Christmas cards we put "our hope is that this Christmas would be about Him and not about the gifts, parties, and decorating!"

In my Tuesday Bible study we have come to Luke 10 with the famous Mary and Martha passage. It reads:

 ³⁸Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me." ⁴¹But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary.  Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

So when Dan had to get his tires fixed this weekend, I sat in the car and memorized this verse.  It's amazing how when you memorize something new things stand out:

• Martha was so distracted with serving that she missed an opportunity to spend time with Jesus.
• Martha had Jesus' character wrong- she went up to Him expecting Him to be upset that her sister wasn't helping her and expecting Him to tell Mary to help her.
• Martha was so caught up in her little world- she was alone and doing ALL the work.  Can't you just see Martha muttering under her breath how there was so much to do and Mary was just sitting doing nothing?  Maybe because I've been there that her attitude resonates so much with me....
• Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet.
• Martha was anxious and troubled about many things- but one thing was necessary (Definition of necessary: absolutely essential).

I feel like the Christmas season is very similar to Jesus' visit to Mary and Martha.  There are a lot of things to do, yet Jesus is so close to us- everywhere we hear Christmas songs proclaiming His glory: "Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay close by me forever and love me I pray" "Come and behold Him," and so many more.  Jesus is right here and we have a choice- to busy ourselves and get distracted with the many things that come with this time of the year, or we can choose to do what is absolutely essential this Christmas: sitting at Jesus' feet and listening to Him.  Let's learn from Martha and Mary and make it a priority to choose the better portion.