Possessor of a much better choice

Possessor of a much better choice describes the heart of our Lord in regards to the free will offerings that we all must bring to Him at all times. From the ancient times men were all bond to please one another and even God by their own works, but only very few saw things in a totally different dimension.

God the Father in Christ demonstrating His sacrificial love taught us all this wonderful dimension of God’s wisdom, which is unparalell to any other in heaven and on earth.

Mary and Martha being the two sisters who are beloved of our Lord demonstrate the passion of Christ in reaching all who would be noticed by Him in this dispensation of grace to receive eternal life in Him.

A family who often received their master and Lord in their home in Bethany.

In Luke chapter 10 verses 38 to 42 we read an awesome demonstration of this heavenly wisdom among this two sister who would want to serve and worship their Lord.

Luke the writer of the this story tell us in a fascinating way the mind of Christ in regards to His view of worship and service to Him. Although we read in few different places about this two sisters love for Jesus and His love for them, but this one is of more importance I believe.

Having said all this let us look at content of this scripture in a more detailed way.

Let us remind ourselves that each portion of the scriptures is God’s breath brought to us by His Holy Spirit’s illumination.

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word to her.”

. ⁴⁰ but Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help Me.”
⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² but one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”          Luke 10:38-42.

Here we are faced with a situation where the words of our Lord must be heard right and need to be understood under the light of God’s own glorious truth.

Misconceptions about God and His choice of the true good for His people can be completely resolved in this short few verses.

Here we have two sisters who love their master and they have recognized Him in His deity and that He was their promised Messiah. A contrast to the rest of the Jews, and in all of this they are trying to serve and worship Him with all that they could. However when one of the two sisters, Martha begins to be distracted by her service and complains to the Master over His neglect of having her sister join her in service.  Jesus’s reply gives us the true prospective of God’s choice between the two. As I said earlier our initial response to God’s offer of salvation and love is how can I serve you Lord?  But Jesus puts the two prospective in order. Hearing Martha’s complain we hear her accusing the Lord for His lack of care for her toilsome acts of serving. I believe even in this she resembled the prodigal son’s brother who was serving in the house while his brother was out and about. This shows to me after a while if we serve Him in our own strength we could become tired and weary and even end up being bitter at the Lord for something He never asked us to do in the first place.

This is why I truly believe Jesus spoke in regards to our service to Him in this way in John the 15^th chapter verse 5 saying..

“I am the vine, you are the branches, He who abides in Me, and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Here in Luke chapter 10 Jesus our Lord is reemphasizing the truth about the more excellent choice of all who come to Him through His grace.

He puts worship way above service. He proclaims to Martha in her distorted view that, what Mary has discerned and chosen makes her the possessor of a much better virtue.

In lovingly admonishing Martha Jesus calls her attention to Him by saying Martha, Martha, which indicates to me she was so distracted that her attention needed to be brought back to the lord by calling her twice to have her truly hear Him.

Serving the master in our human zeal is nothing, but a sign of having been distracted  from the truth of our calling, which is to be the possessor of a better and deeper reality about our call. This being the need to be seating at His feet and listening and learning from Him. In our daily distractions we many time forget to stop and spend time with Him, which is a far better choice in comparison to our vain sacrifices of our religious duties.

As men we think the strength of our natural man can replace the outcome of the fruit of His Spirit and that is where the truth of the gospel once again is marred by a false image of a Babylonian earthly vain pursuit. In which only men will make for themselves a name and tower to reach God on their own effort. A deep and distorted deception of the enemy. A common fallacy we are all often deceived by its alluring extravagant. An ancient and  very deep cunning method of our adversary to trap us all under.

Jesus Christ being a friend of this family loved them very much and in His love He always spoke His truth to them. The words of our Lord to Martha was so kind and compassionate that left her in amazement I trust. His reproof was not anything like what we men would speak. Even in His reproof His love was never absent. He spoke selflessly that which was going to benefit them and not from His own ego. As the word says elsewhere “ Being in the form of God He did not consider it rubbery to appear in a form of a man”  This meant to show us the measure of His humility and how He did not put  service above worship.

But now you might say no pastor Tony look He asked even for a higher thing, since  to worship Him was more of an egotistic pursued for Himself than a quest for service.

But I will tell you let us not run with a quick judgment of His words or even mine. Let us examine His words to Martha very carefully.

^{This is what we read a little while ago and  now}

let us go back and reexamine these words of our Lord to Martha

⁴¹ And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. ⁴² But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”          Luke 10:38-42.

In verse 42 is where we see the wisdom of the Lord for us all. In this verse Jesus says the following …

“But One thing is needed…

And Mary has chosen that good part.

Which

Will not be taken from her.”

Please, please listen to these words. One thing is what would not be taken from us and that is our attentive worship of seating at His feet.

The words of our Lord and Savior here caught my attention yesterday. Oh then there are things which will be taken away from us, but there remains on thing that would not be taken from us even if the difficult times come.

Not only in this life, but even life to come. This being the character shaped while seating at feet of Jesus is the answerto all my other questions. Ministry and service to Him is a must, in another place He says doing the will of God is like eating a bread no one knows about, but unless it is birth from a renewed character received from Him is an absolute derailment of heavenly motives.

Spending time in His word and meditation and worship and obedience of the word that comes from the fellowship is the better choice that few like Mary possessed.

In the Book of Revelations the Lord reproves the churches in regard to the loss of their

First love. To some of the Churches the Lord says your works now are more than when you first started, but I have one thing about you and that is you have lost your first love, therefore repent and do the thing you did at first.

Or in Luke chapter 13 verses 1 through 5 Jesus speaks this eternal truth in this way ….

¹ There were present at that season some who told Him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. ² And Jesus answered and said to them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? ³ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. ⁴Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? ⁵ I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”

What do you think the reason was that Jesus would speak about these examples when they asked Him. I trust that no amount of service or ministry or works can replace the necessity of our daily repentance in His presence. Those whose blood Pilate mingled with their sacrifices, were not mere atheists, they were believing Jews who also were offering sacrifices to God, but they did not repent of their daily sins in turning away from them.

Jesus’s words were of a loving plea of warning to the believers then and to us now. You and I cannot offer no amount of sacrifices  or service of all kinds to Him if we are not willing to possess that which no one is able to take away from us. The result of a changed character only can save us from the predicaments of our rebellious sins.

Jesus does not care about our confession of our faith in Him five years ago, what about our confession and repentance today?