Only one thing is necessary

Luke 10:38-11:13 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible 

Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; ⁴² but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

11 It happened that while Jesus was praying in a certain place, when He had finished, one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John also taught his disciples.” ² And He said to them, “When you pray, say:

‘Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. ³ Give us each day our daily bread. ⁴ And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And do not lead us into temptation.’”

⁵ And He said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves, ⁶ because a friend of mine has come to me from a journey and I have nothing to serve him’; ⁷ and from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ ⁸ I tell you, even if he will not get up and give him anything just because he is his friend, yet because of his shamelessness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

⁹ “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ¹⁰ For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. ¹¹ Now which one of you fathers will his son ask for a fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? ¹² Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? ¹³ So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”

In today’s text Jesus says: “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.”  This is not though about asking to have our desires, lust or greed fulfilled. It is not that we get whatever we ask for from God. Jesus continues saying: “Now which one of you fathers will his son ask for a fish, and instead of a fish, he will give him a snake? Or he will even ask for an egg, and his father will give him a scorpion? So if you, despite being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”  God gives us what we need. He gives us what is necessary and good. Nothing is more important for us to have than to have the Holy Spirit.  1 Corinthians 2:9-12 says: As it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.  By the Spirit we know the things that God has prepared for us; what He has freely given to us. In Jeremiah 29:11-13 God says: I know the plans that I have for you, plans for prosperity and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.  It is God and His will for us that we should seek and ask for. Nothing is better than to be in His will.

In today’s text it says: Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  Serving the Lord is good, but if we are distracted by the business of our serving, we can neglect what is necessary. We need time in His presence listening to His word. When Jesus taught us to pray saying Give us this day our daily bread, He was not referring only to satisfying our physical hunger, but also our spiritual hunger and need. Just as when the nation of Israel was in the wilderness and had to seek God’s manna each day because what was left from the previous day was not good for that day, we need to seek God’s presence, His direction and instruction each day so that we are ready to do what God has planned and prepared for us that day. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus says: “Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” If we will seek God daily, if we will remain with Christ, walking in His will, we can have rest even as we serve Him.

May this song be our meditation and prayer today.

Larnelle Harris - I Miss My Time With You - Lyrics - YouTube

Amen