Only one thing is needed: Jesus (needed by us)

I was reading the passage of Mary and Martha again. While I have talked before about it, an additional angle on it was revealed during the most recent reading. This is the Bible passage where Jesus visits Mary and Martha:

Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.’

Luke 10: 38-42

It is clear from the message that if we have a choice between ministering to Jesus or hearing what he has to say, we should pick hearing what he has to say (which I covered in my previous post).

This time around though, I saw a further angle to this. It tells us that the question of what is needed (by anyone, anywhere) is answered in one word: Jesus.

So, in this scripture, it is not that Jesus needed Mary to listen to him. Instead, it is that Martha (and Mary) needed to listen to Jesus - not to please Him, but simply it was a true need of theirs. It is a true need of all of us too. We are all Marys and Marthas in this world, in the sense that we all need Jesus. The difference between the two women was that Mary was aware of this need, Martha was not. Or perhaps she was aware of her need to listen to Him, but instead prioritized serving Him.

Their need, and the benefit of receiving it, was theirs. It was not to Jesus's benefit that Mary (or Martha) listen. It was to that person's benefit.

Just as Jesus would not have taken food from a starving person, He also would not allow Martha to take away Mary's spiritual food (the teachings of Jesus).

Since Jesus was a true need of Mary and Martha, who could see Him in the flesh, therefore how much more is He a true need of ours, who cannot even see Him in the flesh? We need to prioritize this need more than we think. 

By reading the Bible and by praying, we can get to know Jesus. These are the ways we can and should fulfill this need. 

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