ONE HOLY PASSION

 

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  ‎But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42)

 

It is easy to let the demands of doing ministry overwhelm the delights in being ministers.  Our schedules become dominated by the tyranny of the urgent rather than being directed by the authority of the Lord.  Seeking to please Christ can be supplanted by a desire to please people.  We may do the same things we ever did, but inside we are hollow—just going through the motions.  Many good things have moved us from the one great thing—a heart for God!

 

“We have as much of God as we actually want.”  The late A.W. Tozer said that.  Tozer was a man who practiced what he preached.  He had a great zeal for God.  Tozer wrote one of the Christian classics on this subject called, “The Pursuit of God.”  Honestly, on a scale of one to ten, with one being unconcern and 10 being obsession, where would you rank your heart for God?  In Luke 10:38-42, do you identify more with Martha or Mary? 

 

Martha was DISTRACTED IN SERVICE (v.38-40a)   We recognize that service is a vital part of the Christian life.  The Christian ministry is no place for slackers!  We should commend Martha for her service, and not condemn her.  She saw a need and met it.  But, the danger is that we can easily lose our focus—and become more concerned about what we are doing than why we are doing it—and to God motives matter much.  Martha was distracted from Christ.  It is easy to do.  There are so many demands on us.  Life can be frantic.  Many pastors confess to schedules that crowd out time alone with God.  That is a dangerous place for the pastor to be.

 

Martha was DISGRUNTLED BY SELF-CENTEREDNESS (v.40b-41)   Martha was madder than a wet hen.  She shifted from concern about Jesus to concern about herself.  It is bad enough that she is angry with her sister, but she dares to attack Jesus also.  She says, “Do you not care?”  Nobody seemed to notice the effort she was making—not even Christ.  Do you become disgruntled when you don’t receive recognition for your hard work?  Then you aren’t doing it for Christ anymore—you are doing it for yourself.  Do you ever feel that way? 

 

In contrast, Mary was DEVOTED TO SEEKING (v.42)   Christ must be central in all of life and ministry.  It is about knowing Him so we may make Him known.  The great Bible heroes understood this.  Enoch and Noah, “walked with God.”  Abraham was called, “The friend of God.”  Moses communed with God face to face.  David was a man after God’s own heart.  Paul had one magnificent obsession (see Phil.3:7-14).  Is Christ your one holy passion?

 

Weigh the promise of 2 Chronicles 16:9a, “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” Jesus warned that apart from an abiding, intimate connection with Him, we can do nothing (read John 15:5-11).  Our fruitfulness depends on it.  His Word must abide in us.  This will be marked by His joy flowing from us—not the frustration Martha exhibited.  Man of God, sit at the feet of Jesus, and you will have much forcefulness in your messages and much fruitfulness in your ministry!