| Martha |
| Sometimes people try too hard to be perfect. They think that if they are perfect enough, people will like them more. So they try to draw the perfect picture, or play the perfect game, make every hair on their head perfect, sing perfectly, and so on. Martha was like that. She thought Jesus would love her more if she had a perfect house and served a perfect meal. When she heard Jesus was coming to her house for dinner, she went out and bought fancy food and brand new dishes. When she got home she decided her dining room wall wasn't quite clean enough, so got soap and water and scrubbed it. Then she decided one of her recipes for desert wasn't good enough. So she went to see a neighbor to get a better recipe from her. Then she decided the dress she was going to wear for the dinner wasn't good enough. So she went to town, bought some fabric, then came home to start sewing it together. Although Martha got up right at daybreak, very early in the morning, it became evening too soon. The day had gone and she hadn't started the meal yet. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. It was Jesus. She started to cry because she was not ready for him yet. She still had to change into her new dress and fix dinner. She changed clothes, then ran to the kitchen. She was in such a hurry she was dropping things and forgetting her recipes. She had a sister, Mary, who greeted Jesus and sat down to talk to him. He liked it when people stopped their work to talk to him. Martha left her kitchen and complained to Jesus that Mary wouldn't help her. Jesus replied, "What I really want is you. I want to visit with you more than your house or your food." Do you want to make friends with certain people, so try to impress them with how much money you have, or how good your clothes are, or how fast you can run? That makes you look better than them. They would rather you tell them how good they are. Then you will be friends. |