Mary In Martha's World

     Society praises productivity and achievement. We wear exhaustion as badges of honor while in the corporate world yet condemn mothers raising children who are struggling with sleep deprivation and post-partum depression.

     In Luke 10, we find the tale of two sisters. Martha, who is suspected to be the older sister is busy at work in the home, overwhelmed with the tasks of the day, while Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet, listening intentionally to his words and appearing to neglect the day’s duties. Martha speaks to Jesus, demanding that he instruct Mary to help her, to which the King replies with;

     “You are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better. And it will not be taken away from her”. Luke 10:41-42

     There is a deeper revelation in this story, which can be found with eyes of the Spirit. Martha, striving for perfection and purpose reflects that of the generations prior to the finished work of the Cross. The Law, which guided and constituted righteousness was like a task list, one Martha strived to accomplish. Her relationship with the Savior, based upon serving Him within her home, offered Him the opportunity to enter her narrative, rather than to be the one to dismantle her story and rewrite it.

     Mary, the one who abides at the Messiah’s feet, a representation of having entered God’s rest through her Savior and Redeemer. There were no works she could complete that would have caused her relationship with Jesus to have grown deeper, but rather her desire to be so close that she was seemingly unaware of the pressures and demands around her. She knew in that moment that the housework could wait and would still be there when she rose from the floor. Some would say that her rest came from a selfish knowing that Martha would pick up the slack. But I’d propose the idea that Martha missed the opportunity by believing she HAD to do it all. The bitterness in her heart, a reflection like that of the prodigal son’s brother and of a pharisee. Martha had missed the moment to “enter in” to Jesus’ rest, whether it be from a place of fear, performance, unbelief, or all the above.

     Traditionally in that day, women would have run the homes and earnestly taken care of all the chores and cooking. She was acting out of duty to what culture had told her to become, yet one who came to eradicate man’s wisdom and understanding sat before her, extending an invitation, ironically within her own home.

     “Welcome to my home” Martha would croon, as the Redeemer of the world stepped over the threshold, passing through one realm to another, entering her natural human existence. God, in the flesh, before her, taking a seat to patiently offer her the door to enter HIS home, a realm of supernatural encounter, peace and joy which would cause even the greatest human achievement to crumble to dust.

     Do we have the boldness to speak to the piling demands, expectations from others and pressures of the life and say “you will have to wait”? Can we be trusted by God to lay aside our fears and unbelief to steward the deepest revelations of His heart? Are we willing to step outside of ourselves and embrace the unknown, believing that if He called us, that means He will provide and protect us no matter what comes? Can we be assured that the pleasures and pressures of this life truly pale in comparison to the coming glory that will be revealed in us as we allow His presence to come and purge every false idol, doubt, fear, and passion that stems from a heart of impurity and rebellion to the King of Kings?

     In Hebrews 4, the author speaks of unbelief hindering God’s people from entering His rest. This rest comes from the understanding and acknowledgement that Christ’s work has put us in a place of receiving salvation, with no works needed to be made right with God. The sabbath was a holy day that God set apart after He had finished creation, a time to rest in His completed work, a parallel to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

     So, when the day came that Lazarus had died and been placed in the tomb, two sisters had very different responses to Jesus’ arrival. Although they spoke the same words, telling Jesus that had he been there sooner, their brother would not have died, one spoke from a place of bitterness and unbelief, while another from a contrite heart. Notice, in verse 33 that it says; “Jesus saw HER crying. He saw that the Jews who had come along with her were crying also. His spirit became very sad, and he was troubled.” John 11:33. Verse 35 then goes on to say, “Jesus wept.”

     The text does not state that Jesus wept or teared up when Martha ran to him in disappointment. Rather, that when He saw MARY and the others crying, then his spirit became troubled. The contrite heart of Mary, the woman who had sat at his feet in a place of servitude and awe moved the heart of the King. Her statement to Jesus was the same as her sister’s, yet her heart posture was one of brokenness and not bitterness.

     When Martha had approached the Lord, she spoke “I wish you had been here! Then my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask for.” (John 11:21-22) She had expressed her heart, that she desired Jesus to have come and stopped her brother’s death, but instead of waiting and allowing her heart to rest in the place of mourning, she stated her intention for his arrival; that God would give Jesus what He asked for. She expected Him to ask for the resurrection of her brother, so she was in a state of needing His hands, not His heart.

     So many of us, especially women, have cried out to God in a state of confusion and despair, asking for God’s hands to move upon our circumstances, to deliver us from the pain and discomfort. We’ve championed our faith, based upon the visible moves of God in our lives, yet when faced with unanswered prayers and seemingly closed doors, we’ve believed that He was withholding Himself from us. But, to hold back His hand from our problems is not a withholding of His heart. The Lord’s hands move in response to His heart, and when we can move the heart of the King in a place of love and belief, then we will receive as we have been promised.

     Martha had missed the moment to sit with the King in the frailty of the human condition. Like many of us, she was seeking to perform “damage control” of the situation she was unable to control. Have you sought to do damage control in an area of your life, seeking to control the pieces as they crumble around you? Is a handful of broken pieces truly better than to allow them to all lay at the feet of the Creator and wait for Him to reconstruct and fix what is broken? In our human understanding, we seek to make sense of our circumstances and attempt to rewrite them, hoping to gain an advantage over the pain and suffering. But, in this moment, Mary was asked for by name as she patiently waited for Him to arrive. She was not hurried, desperately running to meet Him perhaps in attempt to seek understanding and get her hands on potential solutions. No, she came when called and allowed herself to be broken before Him, falling to the ground with a heart that desired His presence in her state of mourning and despair.

     This is what moved the heart of the King. Not the pursuit of solutions and control, but the heart who knew The Solution and desired to be in His presence.

-The Breaker Bride