Have you ever been so caught up with ministry that you forget to slow down and feed your own soul? It is easy to be busy with serving, only to miss out on Christ in the process. Spurgeon points to the story of Martha and Mary to offer insights into this common pitfall, where the former was busying herself with household tasks while the latter prioritized hearing the teaching of Jesus.
Now, Spurgeon acknowledges that Martha was not an enemy of Christ as some may paint her out to be. She was an “earnest woman, a true believer, and an ardent follower of Jesus, whose joy it was to entertain Jesus at the house of which she was the mistress.” Her actions were not objectively sinful, but her priorities were misplaced. Spurgeon correctly identifies that Martha’s primary focus was on the care for temporal needs. Mary, however, was completely enamored with the truth of Jesus. “[Mary] looked at him as a priest, she viewed him as a prophet, she adored him as a king.”
As we follow our risen Lord, it is important that we do not become distracted by temporal acts of service. Sometimes we become so busy in ministries and doing acts for the Lord that we forget to nourish our souls in the Lord’s teachings. “Brethren, there is something better to be studied than the outward, for though this may be aimed at with a single eye to God’s glory, and we judge no man, yet we fear the tendency is to imagine that mere externals are precious in the Master’s sight.” The Lord does not need anything from us. Any service we offer must come from the strength He supplies. Therefore, let us strive to be like Mary, prioritizing the enjoyment of Christ’s teachings above all things.
Excerpt:
To know and to love the gospel is no mean thing. Obedience to Jesus, and anxiety to learn his will so as to please him in all things, are not secondary matters. Contemplation, worship, and growth in grace are not unimportant. I trust we shall not give way to the spirit which despises our Lord’s teaching, for if we do, in prizing the fruit and despising the root we shall lose the fruit and the root too. In forgetting the great well-spring of holy activity, namely, personal piety, we shall miss the streams also. From the sincerity of faith and the fervour of love practical Christianity must arise; and if the food that faith and love feed upon be withdrawn, if sitting at the feet of Jesus be regarded as of secondary consequence, then both strength and will to serve the Lord will decline.
Read the rest of the sermon here.