One Thing

If you had to come up with one thing that God wants from you, what would it be? We may well have many, many things that we want from Him, but God only desires one thing from us. Is it love, devotion, good deeds, days spent fasting, hours spent reading the bible, regular church attendance, or the money we tithe? The list could go on and on.

This phrase,‘one thing’ occurs only here in Luke 10, and its context tells us much about what God wants from us, above everything else. In the case of Mary and Martha we have one who couldn’t find it, but the other who immediately grasped it. Martha, spiritual woman though she was, was busy serving. Mary was engrossed in listening – sitting at the feet of Jesus and just taking in all she could of Him. Mary got the ‘one thing’ which Jesus said was needed.

Christ has to have the preeminence. Everything else must take its place beneath Him – Mary sat at the feet of Jesus. Now please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that service, fellowship or preparing meals is a bad thing. We just have to get the order right. The work of the Lord must never take the place of the Lord of the work. If it does, then no matter how good and needful it may seem, it will lack the God-given blessing and anointing it needs. It may be fruitful, but it will lack the abundance it could have had.

God wants us to serve Him out of a place of rest (in Him). Martha, who served out of doing, found herself ‘worried and troubled about many things’. Is that you dear reader? Then Jesus has the answer. When we give Him the preeminence, then we bless His heart. We do this for Him, not to get anything from Him, although that naturally happens. If you find that confusing, think of it in the context of the love you have for someone. Do you show them your love to get something in return, or just because you love them? And, in the giving of that love, do you not receive much love in return?

God so longs for us to find that ‘one thing’, because, as we give Him that first place in our hearts and lives, purely out of love for Him, then He returns it. In doing this we find ourselves no longer ‘worried and troubled over many things’, because Jesus has our primary focus. He will show us what He wants us to do, when, where and to whom. Then, as we act obediently, it’ll be easy to do, and we’ll be astounded by the blessing it brings to others, to God and to ourselves.

Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the times I’ve been so concerned about the work of the Lord that I’ve lost sight of the Lord of the work. Today I choose to pursue that ‘one thing’ that Mary found with all my heart. I give You the preeminence You alone deserve. Amen.