As a task-oriented person, I often carpe diem. But sometimes I’m so worn out, I just can’t seize one more day. Thankfully, I can still seize hold of life with God—and that’s more important by far.
Jesus’s visit to the home of Mary and Martha, as told in Luke 10:38–42, is a familiar story. When Scripture describes Martha as “distracted” by her work from the main priority of fellowship with Jesus, I’m convicted. Do I have things backwards? Do I view my to-do list as the main priority and fellowship as the distraction? In sitting at the feet of Jesus, Mary chose time with God—a choice that has eternal value.
In John 12:1–3, we get another look at these same sisters. I have much to learn from Mary as she anointed Jesus, but I see something here that I hadn’t noticed before: Martha is in the scene, too, and she is serving. She’s working to bring a meal to those at the table, but this time there is no implication that she is “distracted.” Jesus doesn’t point out that she’s worried and upset about many things—likely because she isn’t. She’s doing essentially the same work as the account in Luke, but perhaps in this case she is doing so in a spirit of attention to the presence of the Lord.
As much as I enjoy my time set aside with the Lord in the morning, I can’t stay there all day. I have work to do: my children to teach and care for, meals to prepare, clothes to wash, words to write. You and I have things to do. But instead of choosing work over the presence of God, we can remain in God’s presence while we work. Whether or not we can “seize the day,” we can always hold fast to God’s presence.
Jocelyn Green is the author of Free to Lean: Making Peace with Your Lopsided Life. Find her at JocelynGreen.com. Adapted from Free to Lean, © 2017 by Jocelyn Green. Used by permission of Discovery House Publishers, Box 3566, Grand Rapids, MI 49501. All rights reserved. www.dhp.org.
