April 16th Devotion

What Really Matters Most Today
By Keri Eichberger

She had a sister named Mary, who seated herself at the Lord’s feet and was continually listening to His teaching. But Martha was very busy and distracted with all of her serving responsibilities; and she approached Him and said, “Lord, is it of no concern to You that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Tell her to help me and do her part.” But the Lord replied to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part [that which is to her advantage], which will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:39-42)

Some weeks come with waves of heaviness that weigh slightly different. In contrast, that is, to the typical constant flow of busy responsibilities and commitments I normally remain wrapped up in. Like this past week, a sudden death in the family, a health scare in my immediate family, and one of my kids’ best friends learning of a cancer diagnosis for his young sister. And at each instance, the mundane, heavy load of ordinary life, didn’t seem so significant in comparison.

Whenever something of such weight comes in close contact with our path, my husband and I like to recite in a shared understanding, the words of Solomon. Meaningless, meaningless, meaningless. Because suddenly, all the little stuff that felt collectively so grand yesterday, or right before the hard news, appears vastly unimportant. I’m referring to unwelcome news we’re smacked in the face with that definitely isn’t received in the moment as a gift. Though, I will say the perspective shift away from the focus on all the “busy work,” so to speak, is certainly a welcomed unexpected blessing.

I bet you’ve also had convicting moments when you realize you’d been consumed with the potentially less important things of life. Because we all seem to live most of our packed-full days, burdened by thousands of small, seemingly “big deal” tasks and to-dos. But then we get blindsided with bombs of bad news and blows of life-altering tragedy, only to question if the stuff we spin our wheels every jampacked-hour with, really even matters.

Have you ever paused in the midst of a crazy day or season and wondered, What am I doing all this for? What’s the real point? Does it all really even matter? Maybe you’ve found yourself overwhelmed with the heavy load of your life, yet you long for relief and a lighter load. Which leads you to ask yourself, what stays, what goes, what matters? All these things I busy myself with, do they matter? All the stuff that’s actually heavy, that actually matters, I can’t control or do much about. But the rest of it, does it matter?

What does God think? What matters to him?

Here's what I’ve learned… What matters to God, is what matters most. And when I’m unsure what that truly is, while I’m swallowed up with a self-induced swelling schedule, I sometimes think of our friends Mary and Martha in Luke Chapter Ten. This sure is one of my favorite Bible stories, and mostly because I can relate so intimately with both characters. I pretty much live my days ruled by a tug-of-war of these two personalities. Mary versus Martha.
My inner Martha caught-up in tending to all that seems to need to get done. And my inner Mary, who understands the blessing of stillness and just sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Jesus offers the answer we’re looking for in verse 41 and 42. Referring to busy-body Martha, “you are worried and bothered and anxious about so many things, but only one thing is necessary…” Hear that again. Jesus tells us right here what is most important. After learning in verse 39 that Mary attentively, intentionally, and continually sat at the feet of Jesus, he tells us that only this one thing is necessary. He tells us that this is the good choice, that will bless us, that will never be taken away from us.

Friends, most importantly, more than even doing things for him, the Lord just wants us with him. What matters most, is our choice to sit each day at his feet, listening to his teaching, listening to his voice, listening to him.

I’m sure you’ve read the story many times like I have, but I also know I need reminders again and again, in the midst of my overloaded life, of what matters most.

Intersecting Faith & Life:
If you are longing for a lightened load, as you look at the day ahead and what’s all around you, will you reaffirm with me that none of what’s before you is as important and impactful as the choice we are about to make right now. To just sit at the feet of Jesus. To spend time with him, to talk to him, and to praise him. This is what really matters most today.