You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. (Luke 10:41–42)
My mom loves to entertain. She enjoys having people over for a meal or just a cup of coffee. But Mom is also a worrier. In particular, she worries about how clean the house is when she is expecting company. Her home may be spotless to everyone else, but to her the place needs a full scrub down. As kids, my brothers and I quickly learned that our definition of clean was not Mom’s definition of clean. She won every time.
My mom and Martha share their domestic concerns—except Martha’s company had already arrived. She was so focused on getting everything together that she was missing out on the value of relationships with the people in the next room.
In life, it is easy to focus so much on the big picture of what needs to be done that we forget to live in the moment. Martha had the opportunity to spend time with Jesus himself, the one thing she needed at that time, but she was too focused on everything else.
Jesus challenged Martha to put aside the distractions of life; to put aside the things that need to get done and to come spend time with Him at that moment.
How often do we get so focused on the big picture of life that we forget to live in the moment and focus on Jesus?
Intentionally and prayerfully consider where your focus is today.
Traver Paul Butcher, a PhD candidate in International Psychology, has a passion for helping individuals encounter God in cross-cultural experiences.
