Hula-Hoops And Holiness

Life is filled with Hula-Hoops. We all have responsibilities, important things that need our attention. It's easy to forget that while there is a time to work, there is also a time to worship-and it's worship, the time we spend with God, that provides the serene center to a busy, complex life. I can almost see Martha as she greeted Jesus on his way through Bethany. "Come in! Come in!" she probably said. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check the soup. I, too, have been guilty of giving my Lord a breathless hello and a quick hug. I've welcomed him into my life and gotten him situated, but then moved on like Martha, gyrating frantically as I pursued other duties. Mary didn't do that. She dropped her Hula-Hoops and sat at his feet. Now it's been argued that Mary probably didn't have any hoops (the lazy thing!) "That's why she had time to sit at his feet," we Martha's like to emphasize. But we have no proof of that, and I believe Scripture is vague for a purpose. The story of Mary and Martha was never meant to be a psychological profile or a role play in which we choose the character with whom we most identify. This is a story of two different responses to one singular occasion. In it, we should find not our personality type but the kind of heart Christ longs for us to have. A heart centered in him alone. (From: Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World)