Perspective

Scripture

Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.

~Luke 10:39-40, NLT

Quote

In a way, worry can be worse than cancer because worry destroys our peace.

~Ya’akov

After blogging on this story just days ago, it came back to mind during my morning prayers. This insight comes from the LORD, not a book. Martha was worrying, fretting, talking to herself and Jesus. She was focused on her problem which was no help in the kitchen. Mary was setting at Jesus feet, gazing into His eyes of peace, and listening to every word that fell from His divine lips. The big difference between the two was FOCUS or Perspective. Mary’s eyes are on Jesus and His suffering and Martha eye is on herself and the injustice of preparing lunch alone without Mary’s help. Let me tell you what brought this train of thought to bear. Everyday my temptation is prayer is to dive into my needs and go to asking. Actually Psalm 40:12 got me thinking…“My sins have overtaken me; I cannot see.” It is so easy for me to become obsessed with my wretchedness that I fail to see the beauty in Christ. Instead of focusing on Him and His omnipotence; I am focused on Jack and his impotence. It may sound a bit holy but it is anything but holy. It is a carnal pity-party. Pride is a coin with two sides: the top side is arrogance but the bottom is self-pity. Either one is pride.

What would it take to get my mind off Jack and on Jesus? What about a lightening bolt! How effective are my prayers when I am focused on myself? What if I went into the pulpit focused on myself; how long would it take for the congregation to turn me off? My guess would be “not long.” They don’t need Jack anymore than Jack needs Jack. What they need is Jesus and that is what I need as well. It is not an easy problem to solve because the beauty and perfection of Christ is like a mirror. When we see His beauty, we see our ugliness. I guess the key is to confess it and move on. Maybe it would help if we could see what He is going to make us. The one thing I know for sure is we cannot focus on ourself; not if we want to hear from Jesus or to seek His face. Martha talked to God but Mary heard from God. I want to hear what Jesus has to say; I want to be tranquilized by the peace in His eyes and the words that He speaks. I envy Mary and want to be like her.

Extra

Another great weekend I am grateful for the opportunity to preach the gospel twice. My eyes were bothering me yesterday but I am thankful to be able to go. June is trying her best to find out what the problem is–she thinks it is mold in the house but we don’t know. It is a minor problem compared to those battling cancer. Gregg and Traci are back in Arkansas and if all goes well, Gregg will get the stem cells on Friday. Continue to pray for those battling cancer and that includes my sister Holly in Athens. Troy’s son Charlie is better and should get to come home today or tomorrow.

I hope you have a great day and a great week. I also hope we get some cooler weather. Thank you for reading the blog.

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