Daily Devotion

These verses show us some of the secrets that exist in families, but God wants us all to face the "good, the bad and the ugly" of our lives. We have never allowed enough for the place of temperament in religion. Some people are naturally dynamos of activity; others are naturally quiet. It is hard for the active person to understand the person who sits and contemplates. And the person who is devoted to quiet times and meditation is apt to look down on the person who would rather be active.

 

There is no right or wrong in this. God did not make everyone alike. God needs those like Mary and those like Martha, too.

These verses show us something more-they show the wrong of kindness.Think where Jesus was going when this happened. He was on His way to Jerusalem-to die. His whole being was taken up with the intensity of the inner battle to bend His will to the will of God. When Jesus came to that home in Bethany, it was a great day; Martha was eager to celebrate it by laying out the best the house could give. So, she rushed and fussed and cooked, and that was precisely what Jesus did not want. All He wanted quiet. With the cross before Him and with the inner tension in His heart, He had turned aside to Bethany to find an oasis of calm away from the demanding crowds if only for an hour or two. This is what Mary gave Him and what Martha, in her kindness, did her best to destroy. "One thing is necessary" ---quite possibly this means, "I don't want a big spread; one course, the simplest meal is all I want." It was simply that Mary understood and Martha did not.

 

Here is one of the great difficulties in life. So often we want to be kind to people-but we want to be kind to them in our way and we sometimes take offense in thinking that we are not appreciated. If we are trying to be kind, the first necessity is to try to see into the heart of the person we desire to help-and then to forget all our own plans and to think only of what he or she needs. Jesus loved Martha and Martha loved Him, but when Martha set out to be kind, it had to be her way of being kind which was really being unkind to Him whose heart cried out for quiet. Jesus loved Mary and Mary loved Him, and Mary understood.

 

Life Application: The art of showing love and kindness is something we must seek after for our loved ones, guests as well others that come to us.

 

Praise/Prayer: Oh, my loving Father, help me to be sensitive in the way I show kindness to others. I can't imagine what life would be without You. You are my everything. That is why I can shout and sing. You have given me the songs to sing and the prayer to pray. Hallelujah! Great is our God Amen!