Only One Thing Is Needed

We live in a world rife with activity. From the moment we pull ourselves out of bed, to the time we lay our heads on our pillows to sleep, we are engaged in some form of activity or another, whether physical or mental. Our hearts and minds are constantly restless; unquiet; perpetually agitated or in motion and we struggle to slow down. Pause. Wait. Stop.

Sadly, the church culture also pays homage to service and activity, and believers are often deceived into thinking that their relationship with God requires them to practice the spiritual disciplines, to work, serve and to keep on doing. We are called to pray harder; study the Bible more; love more; give more. In short, we are to do more. Our ministry involvement becomes the barometer for our spirituality. We are so absorbed with doing that we forget to develop our being.

Martha, in the Luke 10:38-42 narrative, busy with the dinner preparations, must have been furious when she saw her sister, Mary, quietly sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to what He was saying. “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” But Jesus said to her, “Martha, Martha, 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.”

Yes, Mary knew that the only one thing she wanted to do was to sit at her Lord’s feet, enthralled with His presence – listening, learning, receiving – and forget about the commotion around her. She knew she had to carve out that space and time to be with her Lord, and for that sacred moment, there was no doing, only being. But many of us, like Martha, are consumed by our addiction towards activity, and we are often restless and even afraid of moments of quiet. St Augustine in his classic CONFESSIONS said, “God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.” Our hearts will constantly wrestle and strive until it finds rest in God. May we, like Mary, learn to rest at the feet of our Master and model His rhythm of receiving and giving, listening and speaking, resting and acting, both in our lives and ministry, because really, only one thing is needed… so let us like Mary, choose the better, because we know this will not be taken away from us.