🌿BREATHE TRUTH🌿
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomes Him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. —John 10:38-40
When Mary got word that Jesus was coming, she went to meet Him. But Mary stayed in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “If you had only been here, my brother would not have died.” John 11:20-21
🌿LIVE THE REAL TRUTH🌿
The first time we meet Martha, she is a busy woman distracted by details. The second time we see her, she is a better woman deepened by devotion. Martha learns the greater truth: Life is lived out in the devotion, not details. When death arrives, you can’t take the details with you. But you can bring the devotion. The devotion you have for Jesus will far outlast and outlive the details encumbered by this world.
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Details deflect us from focusing on the greater importance of life in Christ.
Does the death of Lazarus shake Martha up? Yes. Her brother’s death makes the details that were big in the past, now small compared to her devotion to Christ. Ideally, if we make the details in our lives small sooner than later, we enjoy the journey more. We see the significance of life in the living, not delivering. The pressure to meet internal goals and measure its content is limited to its rightful proportions. Do you hear the crunch, crunch? Details are carnivores. Left amuck, they will consume you until all that is left is a misconstrued picture of what matters most: Worry instead of worship.
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Devotion digs out frivolities and deepens priorities.
When Jesus first arrives in Martha’s house for dinner, Martha is so self-absorbed she misplaces the meal as the centerpiece instead of the Master. Meanwhile, Mary makes the Master the masterpiece of the meal. Mary casts aside the cares of the meal for a meeting with the Master. Martha elevates the work details over the worship. Mary raises the worship above the work.
But after the death of her brother, a different Martha emerges to accost Jesus. Is she concerned about the details back in the house? Not anymore. Martha rushes outside of her home before Jesus even reaches her door. This Martha is ready to do kingdom business with the King. A woman on a mission. A woman who digs away the frivolous details that were so previously significant to traverse deeper in Jesus and be transparent with Him of her pain. Her priorities change.
Even though Martha’s heart is broken, her hands are not. She places her brokenness in her devotion to Jesus, not in the details of her surrounding circumstances, thus transforming her worry into worship: If you had been here, you could have saved my brother. But even though You are too late, I cling to the hope you have a greater plan for my family. When we give the details to God, our frivolities turn into faith, and our concerns into character.
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Details steal our joy.
In her first encounter with Jesus, Martha is obsessed with details. Details deviate us from the divine purpose of feeding our soul at the feet of Jesus. The dinner Martha is preparing may be lavish, but her relationship with Jesus is languishing. Ironically, the dinner in close proximity to her is feeding others while Martha’s soul is in need.
But Martha learns to do better. So can we. Sweep aside the details that threaten to steal your joy. Worry less. Worship more. Devote yourself to Jesus, not to the temporal details that cannot care for your soul when death knocks on the door. Gather the joy of your salvation back, grow your soul, and get down real close to the feet of the Real Truth.
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©️2019 Jordan Su