Psalm 102; Ezek. 34:17-31; Heb. 8:1-13; Luke 10:38-42
There is a truth to the statement that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. There is a tendency in the church for some to get all the attention and for others to get nothing. As a pastor it is difficult to not allow this to happen. There are fat sheep who get all the good grass and also trample down the rest who will not allow others access. As a shepherd I have to guard against allowing this to happen, always keeping my eyes open to those on the fringes. Sometimes I fail and it always hurts me when I do. I am thankful for the good shepherd who does not allow us to slip away unnoticed but who comes after us even at the expense of leaving the 99 behind. Of course there is also a tendency to be the odd one out as a way of getting attention and distinguishing between the two is difficult. God’s promise to these exiles here is that He will gather them into the land and it will be even better than before. Notice the number of times He uses the words, “no more”, sounds like eternity to me.
Mary has chosen the good portion. I have heard many comparisons about Martha and Mary and it is interesting that whenever we see them we always see Martha first, both here and in John 11. Has Martha done anything wrong here? She has welcomed Jesus and is providing hospitality for Him and the disciples, her problem is like that of many of us, we aren’t serving from glad hearts but from compulsion. We are trying to earn brownie points or stars in our crown or whatever. She resents the fact that Mary isn’t helping her in this work and Jesus does not support her in her complaint. Martha’s attitude needs to be fixed and she needs a better understanding of who Jesus is. If she truly recognized Him she would be there as well, learning from Him and resting in Him.
Do our lives display the fact that God has put the law in our minds and written it on our hearts? We live in a covenant of grace but we are still under the same definition of righteous living as always. We should be better able to keep the law because we have been given a new heart and our minds are transformed by the renewing of the Spirit and yet we too often continue to struggle with sin in the same way and we see attitudes that are not transformed. We should and could be new and different, improved if you will, but we hinder the work of the Spirit when we fail to choose the best portion in our desire to be useful. We need to abide.
We share by water in His saving death
Reborn we share with Him an Easter life
As living members of a living Christ
Alleluia!
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