Looking for Trouble

“Only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”  —Luke 10:42

My son began driving his first 4 X 4 pickup the day his learner’s permit came in the mail and I got him out of school early to take his driver’s test at the local State Police barracks. He has owned more pickups, all four-wheel drive, than I can remember. He turned thirty-three last month and currently drives a dual-wheeled 4 X 4 diesel pickup.

With the arrival of winter each new truck was put through a trial of drift-busting. Busting drifts is where you go out on the snowiest days and drive through snow drifted roads just for fun. One time he started down a narrow country road with high banks on both sides. At the beginning, the drifts nearly crossed the road. The farther he went, the deeper the snow got. Eventually, he got stuck and could go no further. He couldn’t back up, and the drifts were so high and tightly packed against the sides of the truck that he had to climb out through the window to get help from a neighboring farmer. You might say, my son went looking for trouble. I have always believed you don’t have to go looking for trouble; it will find you on its own.

In this world, trouble, stress, and care come to all of us. Employers attempt to squeeze more work out of fewer employees in fewer hours. School, sports, social, and medical concerns overwhelm family schedules so that true family time has become a rare commodity. Timesaving devices have allowed us to compact time and multi-task to the point that many persons feel ready to explode. Now, social media allows us to keep up on each friend’s life with the expectation that we will offer input making everyone’s drama ours. Immediate world news brings the most remote tragedy up close and personal. As a Christian, I must ask, “WWJD—what would Jesus do if He lived in our circumstances, today?”

I am reminded that Jesus walked everywhere He went. He only owned the shirt on His back, and there were no Internet, smart phones, or Television. Life may have been harder, but it was definitely lived much more slowy and much more intentionally. Luke 10 gives us a glimpse into life in Jesus’ time as He visits the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus in Bethany.

Martha welcomed Jesus into her home but became distracted with all the preparations for her guest while her sister Mary sat as Jesus’ feet, listening to His teaching (Luke 10:40). Martha, apparently frustrated with her sister’s lack of support, asked Jesus to instruct Mary to help. Jesus’ response is illuminating for us. “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (10:41-42).

Notice that Jesus said, “Mary has chosen the good part.” By implication, Jesus was also saying, Martha had chosen the troubling part. Martha had allowed her own expectations and the current cultural expectations pressure her into worry and distraction. Jesus, the Messiah and Son of God was speaking in her house. Stop and smell the roses! I believe many of us need to hear the voice of Jesus telling us, “Come unto me and rest” (Matthew 11:28). We need to receive the approval of Jesus, like Mary did, to say, “No!” to worldly pressures and our own inward drive and rest at Jesus’ feet. Mary did. When was the last time you truly rested and heard the voice of Jesus speaking to you? Why look for trouble? It will find you on its own. Why not seek the spiritual rest Jesus offers us especially in this world of ours, today.