Day 4 · Thursday
Martha's Kitchen
Luke 10:38–42
You Can Hear with Joy, but the Harvest Tells the Truth.
Read
Luke 10:38–42 · ESV
38Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.
39And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching.
40But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
41But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,
42but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Reflect
She had time for everything except the one thing.
You can be so busy serving Jesus that you never hear Him. The thorns that choke the Word are usually good things.
The Lord of glory is sitting in her house, and Martha is in the kitchen.
Listen to that kitchen. A pot is boiling over. Bread is in the oven. There are cups to fill and a table to set for the Teacher and His disciples. Every sound in that room is the sound of love. She is doing it all for Him. And just through the doorway, the Word made flesh is speaking words that will outlast the stars, and she cannot hear a single one of them over the clatter.
That is the thorny ground. Not wicked soil. Busy soil. Jesus calls the thorns "the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches," and they rarely look like sin. They look like a full calendar. A promotion. A travel team. A second job for a bigger house. Every pot on the stove is a good thing, and together they drown out His voice.
Martha finally storms out of the kitchen, and notice whom she blames. "Lord, do you not care?" The busy heart always thinks the problem is someone else. But Jesus answers her gently, and twice by name: "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."
Parent, what does your kitchen sound like? If your children only ever hear the pots, they will grow up thinking the noise is the Christian life. When practice always wins over the gathering of God's people, you are teaching them that the stove matters more than the Guest.
And you who say, "I don't have time." Martha didn't have time either. She had time for everything except the one thing.
So turn down the burners. Not all of them forever, but some of them today. Walk out of the kitchen. Sit down at His feet and let the pots go quiet long enough to hear Him speak.
You can be so busy serving Jesus that you never hear Him. Choose the good portion. It will not be taken away from you.
Respond
What pot on your stove is loudest right now, and what will you turn down this week so you can sit at His feet?
Write your answer in the Echo Church app. It saves with each day.
Pray
Jesus, I hear the pots more than I hear You. I am anxious and troubled about many things. Teach me the one thing. Help me turn down the noise in my home and sit at Your feet, and let my children see me choose the good portion. Amen.
