Daily bible reading: October 10. 2023

  October 10, 2023.

    Good afternoon everyone, I hope you’ve had a marvelous Tuesday. Today's bible reading comes from the book of Luke, chapter 10, verses 38-42: 

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him. She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak. Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving? Tell her to help me." The Lord said to her in reply, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her."

When I read this reading three parts jumped out to me, that helped me get the message of this reading. 

The first line that popped out is highlighted in yellow. "Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak." Mary knew that what the Lord was saying was something important. She knew that she had to listen to him the best she could, so what did she do? She got up close, right at his feet. Instead of wasting time looking for a chair to pull up she sat right on the floor, and just listened. She didn't ask questions, she didn't give her opinion on the lesson, she just sat there quietly, as close as possible, and just listened. We need to take Mary as an example, because sometimes we tend to keep distance between the Lord and us, sometimes we tend to search for a chair, for resources like the newest bible or a bible study guide, or a prayer book, when in reality we just need to sit down on the floor, simply sitting in silence, and listening to his voice, is enough. 

The unfortunate truth is that it's not as easy as it sounds, because we are constantly flooded with so many chores. I would love to listen to you Lord but I need to study for my exam coming up. I have soccer practice and if I miss practice then I can't play in the games. The new episode of my favorite show is coming up so I can't. We tend to stretch ourselves so much that we show disrespect to the Lord. We can't allow ourselves to put the Lord in the same level as these worldly chores. The very man who gave you life, who has been with you through thick and thin, is trying to speak to you and you are telling him, "one minute." Do you guys see how absurd that is!

Martha is called out on this as well, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things. There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her." We focus on worldly things that can and will be taken away from us at the end of our life. But the Lord's teaching, his blessed words, will last forever. I understand that life is a fast moving train, and if you don't hop on it quickly you'll be left behind, but my question to you, is that train going to your desired destination? Or are you actually trying to go with the Lord, but the anxiety and worries of the world are blinding you from the right path to take. It may seem ridiculous to others, or even to you, but sometimes letting these chores go, and focusing on the Lord's words is much more important. Stopping, sitting down on the ground and just listening, is much more valuable than anxiously working. Have a blessed evening everyone.