To Encourage You

Luke 10:42 “One thing is necessary . . .”

You’ve heard the phrase, “to cut to the chase.” It means to get to the point of what you mean to say.  It means to cut out anything extraneous, to say what you really want to say.  Well, in just four words above from the mouth of Jesus we have the Creator of the universe cutting to the chase.  Here, in these four words, God Himself is telling us that of all the things that we think are so necessary, only one thing really is. 

This statement is pulled from an account where Martha and her sister Mary are hosting Jesus in their home.  They, of course, knew Who Jesus was: the Savior of the world.  It was an important moment for them. Think if you were hosting the president of the United States or some other important person in your home.  You’d do all in your power to make your home ready for them.  Well, here we have Mary and Martha hosting the King of kings.  There was a lot to do in order to serve Him.  Dinner needed to be made, the place settings needed to be arranged, and who knows what else. Martha was frantically working to get everything done while Mary was resting at the feet of Jesus, simply listening to Him speak. In frustration Martha says this: “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”  And then this reply: “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”   

You see, in making sure that this incident was recorded for posterity, Jesus is saying the very same thing to each and every one of us.  All of us are involved in many things. Those who are still in school have all kinds of schoolwork to deal with. Then there are extracurricular activities, perhaps a part-time job, and plans to be made about the future. For those who are a little older, there’s usually a family to raise, a career, hobbies, work around the house, etc., etc. Then in our later years, there are often health problems to deal with, the care of aging parents, making sure one is ready for retirement financially, and who knows what else.  And sooner or later, it’s our own deathbed we face.  Surely, as Jesus said, we are “anxious and troubled about many things.”  

A popular word these days to describe it all is “multitasking.”  It’s about having “many irons in the fire” and trying to balance all the spinning plates at once without one or more of them crashing to the floor.  But to all of this Jesus has told us “only one thing is absolutely necessary!”  This statement, from the One Who knows us much better than we know ourself, is absolutely true and absolutely essential for every person on the face of the earth who has ever lived. And what is that one thing?  What could be so important that it overshadows, by far, everything else? The answer lies in the actions of Mary. She was simply sitting at Jesus’ feet. 

You see, the only thing that will matter at the time of our death is this one thing: did we have a loving relationship with Jesus?  The only thing that will matter then is whether or not we know Him, whether or not we love Him, and whether or not we have listened to Him and obeyed Him.  Everything else – what we did for our career, how many kids we raised and how well we raised them, how much money we made and how we spent it, won’t matter at all in that moment if we’ve never had a relationship with Jesus.  You see, this one thing comes first of all, for He is preeminent in all the universe, whether you and I recognize it or not. 

We think so much is important in life – and it is, for we need to eat, we need to take care of our kids, we need to care for our parents in their latter years, we need to care for our responsibilities in life – like our jobs, our bank accounts, and our relationships with friends and family, but above all else, we need a relationship with Jesus.  No matter how much time and energy we put into any of these very important things, if those efforts didn’t proceed from a relationship with our Lord, our striving will all be futile.  It’s as Psalm 127:1 tells us: “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.” 

We hear it said that a person can only live three minutes without air, three days without water, and three weeks without food, so above all things, aren’t air, water and food the most necessary? Yet the Lord has told us this: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4).  Interestingly, it was to Satan that Jesus spoke these words, for Satan was even trying to convince Jesus that there were other things that were more necessary. 

No, there is only one thing that is necessary, and Mary was one who had found it.  It was time with Jesus, at His feet, submitting to Him, listening to Him, worshipping Him, and obeying Him.  That is the one thing that is necessary.  If that is lacking, if that isn’t first and foremost, if that isn’t the preeminent thing to us in all of life, then whatever else we do in life is, sadly, all in vain.  It’s such a simple statement. It’s such a cut to the chase.  But it’s the absolute truth and the most necessary thing in all of life. Above all things must be a relationship with the Lord. 

So, does that describe you?  In all of your multitasking and fretting about life, is this one thing on your radar? More than that, is it the number one thing in your life?  If it’s not, Jesus wants you to know that you’re missing the mark, for in your anxiety and troubled concerns about many things, there is only one thing that is absolutely necessary, and that is a loving, vital, faithful, and growing relationship with Him.