First Things First

"But the Lord replied to her by saying,

"Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled

about many things; 

There is need of only one...Mary has chosen the

good portion, that which is to her advantage,

which shall not be taken away from her."

Luke 10:41-42

Judean Cooking Pot

I love the way Jesus solved problems. He tackled them head on!

 He was a master at confronting people in such a way

that it did not hinder His relationship with them afterward.

Think of Martha, for instance.

  Jesus visited the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.

 Mary, Martha's sister, sat at Jesus' feet and listened to 

 His words while Martha got mad about it!

She got mad at Mary and she got mad at Jesus!

There was a meal to prepare and nobody would help!

I'm sure she got mad at Martha too, because you can't be

happy with yourself when you're griping at other people!

It wasn't that Martha didn't know what it was to enjoy the

Master's company, because we understand that Martha also

sat at Jesus' feet. It was just a question of priorities.

Martha was busy getting a banquet ready when soup and

sandwiches would have been quite adequate.

Jesus gently reminded her that she was worried and troubled

 about many "dishes" but Mary had chosen the best "dish"!

When Jesus saw women who were "distracted" by their serving-

He did not fail to remind them that,

 "Man does not live on bread alone."

(Matthew 4:4)

  First things need to come first!

"First the Master, then the meat," He reminded Martha.

It isn't that the doing doesn't need doing, it's that the being must

come first, and then we will find that the necessary part of the doing

will get done! Later, in Jesus' ministry we read that Martha served,

and this time there was no complaining and no rebuke-

first things were first.

(John 12:2)

At Jesus' Feet

A Painting by Nathan Greene

"First Things First"

A devotional by Jill Briscoe