| Daily
Thought – July 9, 2004 |
|
| LIVING THE SOLUTION WITH DAILY INSPIRATION |
As they continued
their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the
name of Martha welcomed him and made him feel quite
at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the
Master, hanging on every word he said. But Martha was
pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later,
she stepped in, interrupting them. "Master, don't
you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to
me? Tell her to lend me a hand."
The Master said, "Martha, dear Martha, you're fussing
far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing.
One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it--it's
the main course, and won't be taken from her."
(Luke 10:38-42, the Message)
Both Martha and Mary received Jesus
into their home and then they took different courses;
one served Jesus, the other spent time in His presence.
Jesus did not tell Martha her choice was bad but that
Mary’s choice was the best, it was essential,
essential to what? To life, to love, to knowing Him
and what He wants from and for us.
Many, if not most of us, live our Christian lives as
Marthas. We invite Jesus into our heart, accept what
He did for us on the cross, and dutifully commence with
serving Him. But is that what God created us for in
the first place? Think back, God was enjoying an existence
of perfect love, perfect intimacy, and perfect unity
when He decided to create creatures with whom to share
that love, unity, and intimacy. We were never created
for the main purpose of serving but for loving and adoring.
If all God wanted were creatures to serve Him He would
not have given us free will.
Does this mean we are not to serve? No! Our service
is a result of our intimate personal relationship with
Him, a natural out flowing of our love for Him, but
it would never interfere with our loving Him and being
with Him. God is not so interested in us doing things
for Him; He does not need us to do things for Him, as
He is passionately interested in us doing things with
Him. That is the service He wants. Serving God is loving
and adoring Him, and is reflected by helping others
when they are in need, not just the big things, but
in little daily acts of kindness. Giving a drink of
water, helping someone with their bags to the car, being
a courteous driver, and so on. It's not about engaging
in religious activities that simply look good. But to
do these things we must first spend time with Him. These
things are all the result of a life engulfed by the
love and presence of God. As Jesus said, it is essential.
Don’t forget the essential part of life.
Live it with Passion
Pete Reinbold
|
| You
can see past Daily Thoughts - visit
the archive. |
 |
Scripture
taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright
© 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All
rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission
of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved. |
|
 |
|
|
|
| |
You'll also receive Practical
Biblical Solutions for life's challenges with our free
e-zine |
| |
 |
|
