Serving the Lord, LUke 10:38-42

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."

     You are serving the Lord, but has He asked you to serve Him in the way in which you serve? We see in the story of Mary and Martha that Martha was preoccupied with preparing the meal and such for Jesus to the extent that it frustrated her and caused her to cry out to Jesus for Him to make Mary help her. But Jesus had not asked her to come up with such elaborate preparations such as one person could not handle alone. He had not called her to serve Him in that way.
     Jesus had come over to their home to eat with them, and eating was to be a time of communion and fellowship between people. But because of Martha's wanting to serve Jesus in such an elaborate manner, such communion and fellowship could not be reached. It is not bad to prepare meals and nice accomodations for our guests, but when it takes away from the whole point of their being there, then it starts to get out of hand.

     In our own walks with the Lord, we have to be sure that the ways in which we are serving are those way in which He has called us to serve. If they are not, then we will be performing in our own strength, which will run out and cause fatigue, frustration, and failure ultimately. But when we are doing that which He has called us to do, no matter how hard it may seem, He gives us His strength by which to do those things and we can be sure of success as long as we abide in His will.
     Perhaps you are involved in some sort of ministry and it is just bogging you down and becomming a burden. Stop and take a look: Has Jesus actually called you to that ministry? And if so, are you acting in His strength and in His power, or did you simply get the notice that told you what to do and run off and start doing it on your own, without His help?
     When we get involved in ministries that Jesus hasn't called us to be a part of, they will ultimately, like Martha, keep us from sitting at the feet of Jesus, being in amazement and wonder at His awesome love. We become distracted and unmotivated, and our relationship with the Lord will become less and less personal, because it will start to take on the fragrance of one who is working for His approval and love rather than one who is sitting and resting, in awe of His love.