Meet: Mary & Martha
For the month of July we will discover some the many lessons that can be learned from studying the lives of Mary and Martha.
Overview – Hospitality
Mary and Martha were sisters and more importantly friends of Jesus. Many times their home had been the Master’s place of resting and relaxing as well as a gathering place for teaching. Making sure a guest is welcomed, warmed, and well fed requires creativity, organization, and teamwork. Their ability to accomplish these goals made them one of the best hospitality teams in the bible.
There were always mouths to feed and work to be done. For Martha this meant taking care of the details and in the busyness of serving she was missing the opportunity of knowing Jesus personally.
For Mary, hospitality meant giving more attention to the guest himself than to his needs. She was more interested in her guest’s words than the cleanliness of her home or the timeliness of her meals. Jesus said that Mary had chosen the One thing that would not be taken from her.
Lessons from their lives
- Getting too caught up in details can make us forget the main reason for our actions.
- There is a proper time to listen to Jesus and a proper time to work for Him.
- Small acts of obedience and service have widespread effects.
Life Application
What kind of hospitality does Jesus receive from you? Are you so busy planning and running your life that you neglect precious time with Him? Or do you respond to Him by listening to His Word and then find ways to worship Him?
Remember
The personal attention we give our guests, especially Jesus, needs to be more important than the comforts we try to provide. If you’ve done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.