“Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:41-42).

I suppose most of us could insert our name in place of Martha’s–we are “worried and bothered about so many things.”  This is especially true these days, when both the present and the future are uncertain.  But I think it describes life for a lot of us, even in good times.  

In contrast, the Lord points to a person who is not caught up in such things; He tells of a woman who has “chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  And what might that be?  We back up to the beginning of the story; there we read,

“Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word” (38-39).  

The good part we learn, the one thing necessary, is sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to His word.  

That is to say, of all the things we have to do–even our work, the things we are responsible for, those duties that are ours alone, there is one thing that tops them all, that is more important than them all, and that is being with God with our ears, eyes, and heart open to what He has to say.  

What does that look like in our time?  We do not have the physical Jesus here to sit beneath. We do not have Him here in the flesh in order to actually hear Him speak.  Ah, but we do have Him here–not physically, but here nonetheless, by His word and His Spirit.  

I say it looks like spending time with God in a set-apart-way, all of your other things shut out for a while, reading the words of Scripture and listening to Him speak.  It looks like asking Him questions, telling Him your needs and wants, and most of all it is just adoring Him.  

I note that the Lord says it is necessary, this one thing.  This one need far outweighs anything else.  Not one soul among us has a need greater than this one, to sit at the Lord’s feet like Mary did.  

I note also that it is a choice we make.  Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the good part.”  Mary could have been helping Martha, who “was distracted with all her preparations” and upset because Mary was not helping her (see verse 40).  So it is for us; we can be busy with serving the Lord and neglect this vital relationship with God.  It is a choice.  We chose to carve out time for God, to push off our responsibilities for a while, to listen to God.  

And then I see this is something that can never be taken away from us.  Everything else can and will go at some point.  Right now people are losing their jobs; owners are losing their businesses.  There is the possibility, a real one, that we may even lose our country.  But the one thing you will never lose are those investments of time and attention that you give to God.  A rich man is he who is rich in God.  What he has in God will continue on into eternity; it can never be taken away.  

Sometimes I wonder if I am neglecting my responsibilities.  I work fewer hours than maybe I should, and perhaps I should be exercising more.  And there are things about the home that need my attention.  And then I wonder what good am I to others if I am holed up here in my study.  On the other hand, I have chosen the good part which shall never be taken from me.  I have chosen instead to spend time with God, reading the Bible, writing in my journal, and offering up my prayers.  I do not know if I could go on with life if weren’t for this; what I have here is my sustenance, it is life to me.  It is my life.  

There is still time for the other things, at least those that are really needful.  In fact, like tithing, when you give your 10% and God takes that 90% and grows it exponentially, the time you spend with God tends to multiply the balance of time you have the rest of the day.  You get more done is less time because God blesses it.  

Each of us have the same amount of time each day; we get to choose how we spend it.  If, like Mary in Luke’s gospel, we choose to sit at the Lord’s feet and listen to His word, we will have chosen the best part, the one thing that is really necessary, the one thing that we can never lose no matter what is going on around us.