An article from Desiring God has a quote that I share often with the women whom I study scripture with regularly: “Raking is easy, but all you get is leaves; digging is hard, but you might find diamonds.” This quote has resonated within my heart, mind, and soul to transform my daily time spent in the Word as a mission for diamonds. I may not find one every single day, but on the days the Lord blesses me with a diamond, it is FAR more precious than any amount of leaves I could ever rake.
After finishing one book of the Bible with two weeks before our women’s group kicked off another book of the Bible, I decided to complete a study that is a little different than what I usually gravitate towards. Daughters of Grace: The Women of the Bible and the God of Grace by The Daily Grace Co. completely surpassed my expectations (so much so, that I think I may be brave and remotely teach through the 6 week study over the winter holidays—maybe—stay tuned!)
Early this week, with shovel in hand, I found myself with two very familiar sisters in the Gospels—Mary and Martha of Bethany. The same, exact point is usually taught (only to women) when we hear this story: Women, be a Mary, not a Martha. However, when I dug deeper into the stories of these sisters, I found both men and women should desire to be more like BOTH Mary and Martha--and not just mimicking Martha’s housekeeping skills. (insert eye roll emoji)
I want to share about the diamond I found in the life of Martha first to get her name and reputation cleared from what most lessons misuse of her well-known story. Martha welcomes Jesus into her home. Her sister, Mary, sits and listens to Jesus teach. Martha becomes frazzled by the duties she was trying to juggle—dinner, placemats, dishes, dessert, seating arrangements, who knows what all. Overcome by her frustration, she lashes out at her sister and waits for Jesus to back her up. (Paraphrase from Luke 10:38-42)
Obviously I can only speak as a woman, but I would assume when men hear this story, the initial thought is the same--our flesh nature is quick to say we would be Mary. We treat Martha’s worries over the hospitality and entertainment as something we would not have dreamed of fussing over in the presence of Jesus.
Yet, when we honestly examine our own lives, we see something far different. Our time and thoughts would show we are overly concerned with work, family, friends, laundry, dishes, food, reputation, exercise, flower beds, hobbies, news, social media, etc., anything other than being with Jesus. Jesus’s gentle rebuke to Martha should put our own priorities into proper perspective.
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portions which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42
This is usually where the rakes quit on Martha. She goes down in our minds as an obsessive housekeeper. Surprisingly, we do find her in another familiar bible story; she just is not the main character. With shovels in hand, we can take heart in seeing how her life was radically transformed by Jesus’s rebuke in her home.
Some time later, Martha and Mary's brother, Lazarus, was sick. They sent for Jesus to come. Jesus chose to wait because (SPOILER ALERT) he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead. No one else knew that. Lazarus died. His sisters grieved. When Jesus had made it to Jerusalem on his way to Bethany, people told Martha and Mary he was on his way. Scripture says Martha went out to meet him, when he was still about two miles off. That phrase alone jumped off the page to me. This woman who in the prior story was consumed by her to-do list, drops everything during a busy, difficult time and goes to Jesus. And that is not all we are shown of her life change. The statements she makes to Jesus show a faith that has grown tremendously:
“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.” John 11:21-22
“I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” John 11:24
“Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” John 11:27.
What happened to Martha between the dinner in her home and this interaction? I think it is easy to see that after Jesus called her to desire the good portions that will not be taken away, Martha began to live a changed life of choosing the one and only thing necessary—she chose to sit at the feet of Jesus over any other concerns (both good and bad) in life.
The diamond in Mary's life is an easier one to see, but still difficult to apply. All four gospel accounts mention Mary, though not always by name. We do not know when Mary had the initial experience of realizing Jesus was the better and necessary thing in life. However, based on where we always find her in Scripture, we know she believed it wholeheartedly. Every story that Mary of Bethany is in, she is found at the feet of Jesus: dinner in her home (Luke 10:39), after the death of her brother Lazarus (John 11:32), and anointing Christ before Passover (John 12:3).
John's account is the only one that names her as Mary at the anointing. Matthew's and Mark’s accounts simply refer to her as "a woman at Bethany" and note Martha is serving this dinner six days before Passover at a man named Simon’s house, with their brother Lazarus reclining at the table. Those details matter. Mary was more than likely not an invited guest to the table. She enters the room with a pound of expensive ointment, lets down her hair, and anoints the feet of Jesus in a beautiful act of worship that Jesus himself says will be remembered wherever the gospel is proclaimed (Mark 14:9). Mary did not ever allow any sort of cultural expectations (or even her sister’s expectations early on) to stop her from falling at Jesus’s feet and worshipping Him as her Savior and King.
As followers of Christ, we can learn much from both Martha and Mary in Scripture simply by putting down rakes and picking up shovels.
We need to realize our priorities are all out of whack living in the flesh.
We need to be transformed by the gentle rebuke Jesus gives to choose the one necessary thing, Himself.
We need to be willing to humble ourselves and our faith be grown by steady obedience to His Word.
We need to be people, without hesitation or thought to others, that are always found at His feet in worship.
May it be so.
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