“But few things are needed
or indeed only one.”
Do you remember the story in the Bible about Mary & Martha?
Let me recap it for us.
Jesus visits the home of these two sisters when He is passing through their village. Martha welcomes Him with open arms and invites Him in. She runs here and there, doing all the things to properly host Jesus and His disciples while her sister chooses to throw in the towel and sit with Jesus to listen to Him teach. In a flurry of frustration after trying to get it all done, Martha interrupts Jesus and asks if He would tell Mary to help her. Rather than scold Mary, Jesus looks to Martha and tenderly addresses the weariness in her soul:
“Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed -or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
Friends, there is nothing wrong with doing things.
On the contrary. Our lives are tangibly lived out in the doing; in our moving and being in this world.
When Jesus addresses Martha, He is not condemning her doing and commending Mary’s not doing.
Jesus sees the anxiousness that is driving Martha. He tenderly speaks her name and exposes the worry that has taken up residence within her.
His whispered invitation to choose that which Mary has chosen causes Martha’s frantic rushing, frustration, and upset to take pause.
Jesus invites her to let go of the allure of trying to do all the things, and to whole heartedly pursue just one: the only thing needed.
The thing that is better than all others and won’t ever be taken away from her.
The one thing needed is to live life postured at the feet of Jesus; to receive His Word that forms us, His love that holds us, and His presence that keeps us.
Here’s the thing. This world is loud. There are so many voices trying to get our attention.
We likely read thousands of words a day, and listen to even more.
We don’t need another website, another instagram post, another email.
We don’t even need more words about Jesus.
Friend, we just need Him.
Weaving words together feels nearly as strong of a calling to me as being a mama.
The way some people build, or cook, or bind wounds, or create, or fix -
I string together words and melodies and speak truth like light into the dark.
And yet?
I have been hesitant to hit the ‘publish,’ button that will launch these words of my heart
into characters on a page for your eyes to find.
Not because I lack confidence or calling.
But because the world doesn’t need more words.
It needs more of Jesus.
I pray that this space is a place that we can commune together.
I hope we can laugh, nod in shared understanding, have ‘aha’ moments, allow tears to fall when needed, and let our layers of resistance towards Jesus give way as we learn to ‘be-loved’ by Him.
I want to invite you, not just to read words, but to dwell with the Word.
He is the Only Thing Needed, and it is a dear privilege to be able to journey alongside of you in pursuit of Him.
We are the Beloved of God; invited to live each of our days leaning into the love and faithfulness of Jesus, and to work out the tangible implications of ‘being love’ as we move through our days alongside the Spirit of God.
We are the Beloved of God, invited to Be Love with God.
Yet we so often ignore the invitation to come close enough in order to Be Loved by God.
Like Martha, we invite Jesus into our homes, try to make Him comfortable, and then frantically run this way and that in order to serve Him. We create systems and lists so that we can serve most effectively, but we neglect to actually be present to Him.
Jesus offers us Himself - the very life and love that our souls ache for - and yet we so often keep Him at arms length, opting to simply welcome Him into our ‘homes,’ like a good Air B & B host, providing great amenities and delivering a promising experience, but never allowing ourselves to be seen or known by Him.
