"...a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving..." (Luke 10:38)
From reading this passage, it is very easy to wrongly think that Martha is the bad sister because she chose to do other things whilst Mary listened to Jesus. However, this is far from the truth.
If we look closely at the passage, we would see that Martha welcomed Jesus into her house, “...and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house...” She was also at Jesus’ feet with Mary listening. “…Mary who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word…” However, it was Martha who got distracted by other things instead of listening to Jesus. “…But Martha was distracted with much serving...” Martha might have even been preparing food for the Lord Jesus; but that is besides the point.
"It is very easy to wrongly think that Martha is the
bad sister because she chose to do other things
whilst Mary listened to Jesus. However,
this is far from the truth..."
This same pattern that we see in Martha and Mary repeats itself amongst many youths today. If for example two core members of the Youth Group were to be compared based on appearance, we would find many similarities between the two. From the outside, they would appear to be the same; as they are both active in their tribes, they attend the weekly meetings and battalion on Saturdays, help to clean the church, evangelise, etc.
It would be virtually impossible to spot a difference in these two individuals judging from their actions. On the inside however, one will be very different from the other. One like Mary would be focusing on what is important, whilst the other, like Martha gets distracted by other stuff.
Like Martha, many youths get easily distracted by other things. These distractions could be friends, music, thoughts, love life, career, studies etc. Whatever it may be, something on the inside impedes people from being 100% with God.
Building a relationship with God through the Holy Spirit should be our number one priority. Nothing should distract us from this goal. Even though we may be in the church and have responsibilities in the church, we cannot allow ourselves to be so occupied by other things that we render our relationship with God less important.
You may have been a good person all of your life. You may also be contributing a lot to the work of God; but if you get distracted from seeking His presence, it is all worthless. You do not gain merit only for doing the right thing in God’s eyes. Recognise that you need God’s mercy. The Holy Spirit only enters the humble-hearted.
It does not matter about the past; it is about being a real offering and giving 100% to God.
Pr Luke Castro
YPG National Coordinator
