Love Story

Boy meets girl. Boy disgusts girl sometimes. Girl annoys boy often. Then something changes. A brokenness settles in. Surrender and vulnerability. Regardless of the subplots and driving situations, this is often the gist of romance.

The Fallacy of Productivity

I have the hardest time going to a movie theater. Seriously, the last two movies I went to were Brave and the Avengers this summer, but before that it had been at least three or four years. Why? It’s simple. It gets too dark for me to do anything. At home with a DVD, I can scrap book, do social media, plan meals, crochet, and I like the feeling of being productive.

There are times to put aside busy-ness and get quiet enough to listen to God. Click to Tweet This!

Like Mary and Martha from Luke 10:39. The two sisters entertained Christ in their home. Martha planned and fussed and struggled to prepare something to give honor to the Lord. Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus’s feet focused on the instruction and encouragement that He gave.

Martha had good motivation, but missed the big picture. She also missed the amazing lessons that He shared that day in her own home. Mary truly gave Him honor by giving Him her full attention. She ended up being commended for her choice. Despite the fact that she looked lazy, she delighted in everything that came from the Lord’s mouth.

But what a conundrum this presents. Life is a busy place and we want to do our best to earn and show respect to family, friends, bosses. We want to give our best to the Lord, too; practiced, primped, without flaw.

Whoa. Wait a minute. This use of the word flaw reminds me of a Bible verse – Ephesians 5:25 – where Paul is describing the love of a man for his wife and comparing it to the Lord’s love for His church.

Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the Word, and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

This makes it clear that Christ is the one Who makes us flawless, even with all of our practice and dedication. So should we even try to extend our best to God? Yes, and spend time in practice and prayer to do so, but we can’t impress Him. And while He inhabits our offering of praise, whatever that sacrifice might be, we delight Him when we stay in a teachable position ready to learn from Him.

Your turn: Which do you lean toward, the Mary or the Martha? Or have you found a balance?