Are you Amazed?

"You are worried and upset about many things." These are the words that Jesus used as He addressed Martha while visiting her home.

"Worried and upset about many things." Sound familiar?

Many of you know the story of Mary and Martha. I love this story because I believe it is a wonderful example of how we can become so preoccupied with our daily lives as women and miss out on all that Jesus has for us.

I can only imagine how Martha must have felt as she was preparing her home for the Lord to visit. I clean like a crazy woman when we are having our closest friends over; I cannot imagine how many bottles of Lysol I would go through of Jesus was coming to my home.

Martha was hurrying around trying to clean and prepare as Jesus arrived at her home. She wanted everything to be perfect and longed to please her Savior.

However, her sister just sat at the feet of Jesus when He arrived. Mary was amazed and consumed with everything that Jesus was and longed to listen to anything that He had to share.

This made Martha angry and she asked Jesus why He didn't care that she was doing all of the work while Mary just sat and did nothing. Martha even told Jesus to tell Mary to help her! Can you imagine? Martha must have been extremely frustrated at this point and was probably very tired. She wanted her home to be pleasing to Jesus and was working very hard to make sure everything was in order.

I think many of us can completely understand Martha's reaction in this story. Martha loved Jesus and wanted to spend time with Him. However, she also wanted to appear prepared and ready for His visit. She probably longed to sit at His feet also but allowed herself to be worried about other things that really didn't matter at all to her visitor. Many of us do this same thing day after day. We long to spend time with Jesus but become busy trying to be the perfect mom, wife, or employee. We want to be pleasing to our Savior but just can't seem to find the time to stop and sit at His feet for even a few moments.

I wonder, how many of us can truly say that we can identify with Mary's reaction? How many of us can say that we would just sit and listen without any preoccupations when Jesus came to visit?

The New Testament uses the word "amazed" to describe how people felt when they saw, heard, or experienced Jesus. Mary was truly amazed by Jesus and His love for her. She was not going to let anything stand in the way of spending time with her Savior.

In this moment, Jesus saw her heart and explained to Martha that Mary had made the right choice. "...only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Take some time now to think about Mary and Martha. Who do you relate to? Are you amazed with Jesus? Do you understand how Mary must have felt or do you relate better to Martha's reaction of busyness and preoccupation?

Slow down this week and just spend some time sitting at His feet and listening. Don't let life get in the way of the amazing reality of who Jesus is and what He has done for every one of us.


Some Things to Think About:

Are you truly amazed with Jesus and all that He is?
Do you often find yourself too busy to stop and spend time focusing on your Savior and what He has done in your life?
How many times do you find yourself more concerned with the way things appear and less concerned with your relationship with Jesus?

Words of Worth:

"When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at His teaching."
Matthew 7:28

"The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!"" Matthew 8:27

"The people were amazed at his teaching, because He taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law." Mark 1:22

"Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42