Martha And Mary

 

 

 "Martha, Martha, the Lord replied, "you are worried and upset about many things.
But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion and
it will not be taken away from her."
(Luke 10:41-42)

 

At Jesus' Feet
Nathan Greene
Contemporary American painter
Image courtesy/Nathan Greene Art

 

 

 Martha was busy and hurried,

Serving the Friend divine,

Cleansing the cups and platters,

Bringing the bread and wine;

But Martha was careful and anxious

Fretted in thought and in word. 

She had no time to be sitting

While she was serving the Lord,

For Martha was "troubled" with "things"...

Those that would pass with the using...

She was forgetting her wings. 

Mary was quiet and peaceful,

Learning to love and to live.

Mary was hearing His precepts,

Mary was letting Him give...

Give of the riches eternal,

Treasures of mind and of heart;

Learning the mind of the Master,

Choosing the better part. 

Do we ever labor at serving

Till voices grow fretful and shrill,

Forgetting how to be loving,

Forgetting how to be still?

Do we strive for "things" in possession,

And toll for the perishing meat,

Neglecting the one thing needful...

Sitting at Jesus' feet? 

Service is good when He asks it,

Labor is right in it's place,

But there is one thing better,

Looking up in His face;

There is so much He can tell us,

Truths that are precious and deep;

This is the place where He wants us,

These are the things we can keep. 

 

"Mary And Martha"
Annie Johnson Flint 
(1866-1932)
 Prolific American Christian
 poetess and writer