44 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
44 lines
2.4 KiB
Markdown
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title = "Luke 10:38–42"
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date = "2022-12-08"
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### [Read the passage.](https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Lk10.38-42)
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Luke doesn't tell us this, but Mary and Martha were the sisters of Lazarus of
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Bethany, who was raised from the dead by Jesus. Bethany was about two miles
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outside of Jerusalem, and it seems likely that Jesus stayed with this family
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often while He was in the area. Because the text says "Martha welcomed Him into
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her house", this is probably the first time Jesus has visited.
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We see two different responses from the sisters. Mary sits under Jesus's
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teaching and Martha is busy trying to be a good hostess. We can't know exactly
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how many of Jesus's disciples were there at the house at the time, but likely
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more than a few, so it is reasonable&emdash;even commendable&emdash;for Martha
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to want them to be comfortable and cared for at her house. Let's not take this
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story to mean we shouldn't be hospitable.
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But Luke tells us that Martha is "distracted" with her efforts and tries to get
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Jesus to tell her sister to help with her work. Jesus gives her a gentle rebuke
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by telling her that she is trying to do too much, and what Mary has chosen to
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do is a better use of her time. Food is good and necessary, but you only eat it
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the once, and it's gone. Truths we learn from studying God's Word last forever.
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This sounds a lot like the lesson my wife and I learned over Thanksgiving this
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year. In the weeks leading up to it, our family was hit with a stomach virus.
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Each of us got it, one after another, and while the first day was the worst,
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recovery was slow and it took several days before we felt normal and able to do
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as much as we'd like. It was also the plan that we host Thanksgiving at our
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house, as in every year. There were turkeys to smoke, clutter to put away,
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floors to clean, tables and chairs to set up, and not enough time and energy to
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get it all done. So we didn't. Not all of it, anyway. We were very close to
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cancelling as I still didn't feel 100% better on Wednesday, but we realized
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that being with family was more important than not letting them see an
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imperfectly kept house. And God was gracious to us because the turkey and
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everything was delicious, we enjoyed each other's company, and we all were
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thankful for what the Lord has done for us.
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* * *
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Let us keep the main thing the main thing, with our eyes focused on You and on
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eternal things that cannot be taken away from us.
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