I think I might have a problem. I just realized I might be that guy. I have this superpower where I am able to hear someone talking to me and then completely ignore what they are saying. It’s a gift, right? Just hear me out. I was in a college class and I somehow tuned out for a moment while the teacher was talking. I looked down and then when I looked up the math teacher had the answer. She said the problem on the board, I looked down for a moment, she said the answer on the board. Problem, look down, answer. Problem, look down, answer. Just so you understand my interest in this, my issue with this moment is I didn’t leave the room. There was a few seconds where I completely cut off everything that was happening around me.
You might want to think this super power is the most amazing thing you’ve ever heard but I gotta say I can see a few holes in this. To name a few, let's start with the fact that I still to this day have no idea how she got that answer. It doesn't bother me but it does lead to obvious flaws in my math logic. It’s like seeing an ant on your arm. Knowing that you need to hit it in order to get it off but instead of knowing the middle equation of hitting it you just look at it. That's what it's like. It hurts to know the answer to something but be unable to do anything about it because you won’t apply the middle part of the equation to your logic. To everything in life there is a beginning, a middle, and an end. The best parts of a book are is in the middle. It's what makes the beginning meaningful and the end priceless.
Jesus is talking to a group of people in a room. A woman named Martha is preparing things for all the guests that come with Jesus. Martha gets frustrated doing all the work by herself and ask Jesus to speak with Mary who has been listening to Jesus teach. The way Jesus answers her is, first of all, something no man would ever say to any woman. Not because a man would be afraid to respond to a woman in this way but because no man would think the way Jesus talked. Luke 10: [41] The Lord answered her, "Martha, my beloved Martha. Why are you upset and troubled, pulled away by all these many distractions? Are they really that important? [42] Mary has discovered the one thing most important by choosing to sit at my feet. She is undistracted, and I won't take this privilege from her."
There is nothing wrong with Mary helping Martha. However there was something great in Mary’s ability to listen. Not everything in life is about right and wrong or fair and unfair. Some things in life are just about doing the best thing we can do. At that moment Jesus saw and understood that the best thing for Mary is her ability to be undistracted. I really believe this is the hardest thing for a lot of Christians. We are all Martha, trying to serve and do things in this world but we are also doing that service out of worry and doubt. Martha was serving and in the same room with Jesus and all she could think about was what Mary wasn't doing. She is in the same room with the creator of life and all she can hear is her sadness over Mary not helping her. I know this happens to me too. I get so distracted by people not caring about my calling. I get so distracted by everything the world is doing. I pull a Martha and get mad at God for not doing everything I think he should when truthfully I’m just distracted.
Distractions hurt our relationship with God in different ways but the main problem is we stop listening. Like I said before in the math class I stopped listening for one moment and all the sudden I had no idea where the answer came from. Sometimes our problems in life are not simple and in fact extremely complicated. It could be that the problem is not unsolvable, you simply are just too distracted by your frustrations, perspectives, or desires. So distracted that you forget where the answers come from. Psalms 62:7 In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. The writer of Psalms talks about a lot of stressful and distracted things. But He always seems to go back to the point that the answer is found in God.
In prayer, Bible reading, worship, and meditation we are completely undistracted from our Creator. Listening to God is the highest form of listening. If I listened to my math teacher I would have learned math. If I listen to football I would learn play styles and players names. If I listen to the ocean I might learn how to have a sense of peace or tranquility. However in listening to God you are learning the essence of life. He created all life. So His words are the source of all answers, truth, and life. When we are undistracted from listening to Jesus we not only hear nice words but we hear life answers. Jesus made it a point to let Martha know that He would not take away Mary’s ability to remain undistracted. I think Jesus is saying the same thing to us today. It may be why some things don’t work out the way you want them to or why some things in life happen suddenly. It’s just a distraction and Jesus won’t allow them to be in your life. It’s why as a single man I try not to get depressed or worried when I don’t have any friends or maybe a date falls through. Or maybe that job I wanted falls through. In my mind this all seems bad but with my relationship with Jesus He has decided that the greatest thing in my life is my ability to hear him and he won’t allow anything to take that away.
I really believe Jesus is still saying this today to people everywhere. “Why are you so worried, upset, and pulled away by so many distractions?” You might want something to change or have something to happen in your life but nothing is greater than taking time to listen. In listening we not only see the problems in life but the point of the answer. Jesus is at the center of it all. Just wait and take the time to listen.
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