THE WORD FOR TODAY
MONDAY DECEMBER 23, 2019.
Luke 10:42
… Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Most of the time, we misinterpret this phrase, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit for theirs is the kingdom..”
We are always thinking about physical poverty rather than needing spiritual things. If Jesus comes to your home, what would you do? Would you ask Him to sit down and then start serving Him? Or would you sit down and start drawing from Him? Would you let Him help you and fill you up?
Jesus walked into the home of two sisters, Martha and Mary. (Luke 10:38) Martha saw His weariness. She knew that Jesus had been walking for miles, going about doing good, healing the sick, and meeting the people’s needs. He must be tired, she thought, so she saw Him as someone she had to care for.
Mary, however, saw beyond Jesus’ external weariness into His divinity. She saw that He was someone she needed to draw from. And by doing that, she made Him feel like God the Savior who had come to serve her and not to be served by her. (Matthew 20:28) Jesus even commended her for choosing the better portion! On God’s priority, receiving from him comes before serving him. When the devil tempted Jesus to bow and worship him for all the riches of this world, Jesus answered. “Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” Did you see the order? Worship first before service. If you don’t sit under him to receive, your service will not be pleasing. It will be to please men, and you end up complaining. Mary chose the best, and no one could take it from her.
Which sister gave Jesus the sweeter feast and filled Him up? Martha, who was busy preparing food for Him? Or Mary, who sat still and drew deeply from Him? It was Mary. She made Jesus feel a sense of His divine glory. She allowed Jesus to be the giver, to be God.
Like Martha, we always reverse the roles. We somehow think that God is in need, and we are okay; we don’t need him; he instead needs us. But He wants to fill us. First, he wants us to have that sense of depending on him. Mary’s ears and heart were more precious to Jesus than Martha’s hands and feet.
We use our ears and hearts to draw from Jesus. We use our hands and feet to serve Him, and there is a place for that. But our sense and appreciation of God’s divine fullness are more precious to Him than all the service we can render Him. And when you draw from Him, you cannot help but become a great giver and server.
The sophisticated system is all about what we can do, we call it can-do spirit, and we focus on ourselves rather than God. Sometimes it’s like we don’t need God. The rich young ruler came to Christ, asking of what good thing he could do to inherit the kingdom. Jesus asked him to give away the source of his confidence and follow him, relying solely on him, the guy was sad, and he missed it.
Unless you learn how to receive from God, you will have nothing to give to man.
PRAYER
Help me to learn how to receive and to rely on you alone in whatever I do in the name of Jesus AMEN!!!!
The writer, Rev. Oppong Adu-Gyamfi is the Founder and Senior Pastor of International Charismatic Church. He is a Teacher and an Author.
