09.Jul.2009 A Shift in Perspective…
Luke 10:38-42:
As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”
This is a hard story to read, especially for those of us who are “Make it happen” people. It is almost too easy to look at this story and get angry with Jesus; how could he not tell Mary to get up and help her sister who is obviously working so hard? It is natural to feel more for poor Martha, who is running around doing all these things to make sure Jesus is comfortable in her home. The answer is a matter of perspective.
Perspective is a matter of the heart. Both good and bad experiences in life can alter our perspective of the world around us. Good experiences make the world seem bright. You feel like you can do anything. God is easy to trust and His people are easy to get along with. Yet, in the same way, bad expereinces make life hard, dark, and unfair. Suddenly, God is far away and uncaring and His people make you angry. Church is like a washingmachine. You get tossed up against people of different makes and colors, and if you heart perspective is in the negative, these people will make you angry.
Perspective has a lasting effect and can alter the course of your life. Take, for example, the spies who scouted the Promise Land when Moses was leading the people of Israel verses the spies who scouted the Promised Land when Joshua was leading.Both groups saw the same thing, but the first group spoke negatively of what they saw. Their perspective was one of defeat. They said it could not be done, so they never conquored the land. However, Joshua’s spies came back with a positive look on the situation. They knew God was with them. They said it could be done. And it was. Joshua led the people in taking the land. They had the Heavenly perspective.
Heaven’s perspective is the true reality. But how can that be right? What we see around us is reality, right? Wrong! God’s perspective, though contradictory to the world’s and baffeling to the human mind, is the true reality. God sees that it can be done. God sees the good in the moment. God sees the oppurtunity. And so can we if we allow ourselves to be aligned with God’s will. God’s will is written in His word. We align ourselves with it by studying His word. When we do this, suddenly the circumstances of the world stop effecting our perspective. Suddenly, we see things thorugh the Heavenly perspective; God’s true reality.
Back to Mary and Martha. Martha’s perspective of life was altered by her thinking. She wanted control of her world. She wanted to do everything and be involved in everything and make everything perfect. Her children were in line. Her husband did as told. She was the leading women’s minister in her church. She had it all! So, when Jesus came to town, she naturally opened her house to Him. She cleaned until her house shown. She worked hard to put together a great meal that would display her cooking proess. She made sure that everyone was comfortable in her beautiful home. Everything was in order…
…Except for Mary. Mary, her younger sister, was sitting at Jesus’ feet! To Martha, that was disgraceful! No self respecting woman of faith should ever sit at the feet of a man! She was furious! Didn’t her siste rsee her running around doing all this work? She should be helping! In an indignant huff, Martha demands that Jesus tell Mary to help her. She would show her sister how things were to be done. Service was what a woman of faith did, and Jesus would back her up on this!
But Jesus didn’t. He did something that threw Martha’s perfect order out of balance. He publically reprimands her. He tells her that Mary has chosen the right thing, and He would not take it from her. At first read, that seems really harsh. Why would He say that? That’s so mean! But, when the perspective is shifted, His true heart is revealled. He’s saying to her, “Calm down. Stop bustling about and come sit with me for a while. I want to see you.” Jesus was jealous for her company. He wanted to hang out with her, not watch her run around the house in a frenzy trying to impress Him with her order. He wanted her to let go.
You seem Mary chose to be teachable. God wants us to be teachable. Being teachable means we are open to God. We allow Him to come in and shift our hearts. He aligns us to His will. When we let go of our lives, nothing holds us back from following Him. Our pasts no longer dictate to us who we are and what we can do. Our God is a BIG GOD! He is a SUPERNATURAL GOD! He CAN DO ANYTHING! And we can do anything when we align ourselves with His will which is written in His word!
