The Good Part

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me."  And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." ~ Luke 10:38-42 

Observe:
*  Martha welcomed Jesus into her house. She was distracted with much serving. She approached Jesus, questioning Him and telling Him what to do. 
*  Mary sat at Jesus' feet and listened to Him.

Two people interacting with Jesus.  One chose the "good part."  Is Jesus opposed to serving? It depends.  Are we serving Him or serving idols of some sort?  Not all service is alike.  Is our serving like His serving or is our serving distracting us from loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and from loving our neighbor?  Jesus came to serve and to give His life as a ransom (Mark 10:45).   He was always about His Father's business, submitting Himself even to the point of dying on a cross..."not My will, but Yours, be done" (Luke 22:42). This kind of service requires us to listen, to sit at His feet.

Interestingly, the very next thing Luke records for us after telling us about Martha and  Mary is Jesus teaching His disciples to pray:

"Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven..."

We too are called to be about our Father's business...Jesus teaches us to pray in a way that positions us at His feet...His name be hallowed, His kingdom come, His will be done!  Do we have our own agenda's, welcoming Jesus in only to advise Him to help us with our plans?  Are we distracted with our "serving"? Or are we choosing what Jesus calls the "good part"...sitting at His feet and listening to Him so that all our serving will be about His name, His kingdom, His will?