Our Greatest Need

 "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

Jesus once again found Himself in the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Their love often drew Him and His followers to rest and relax in their humble abode in Bethany. As was His custom, Jesus took the opportunity to teach wonderful truths concerning His kingdom. Mary was so caught up with the glory of His words, she failed to realize that Martha was left alone to prepare and serve these very special guests. Finally, Martha had endured enough, and she bolted into the area where everyone was listening to Christ speak. Instead of quietly gaining the attention of her sister, she raised her voice towards Jesus, and sternly rebuked Him for not realizing her dilemma and instructing Mary to assist her. Out of the mouth of our Lord is spoken some of the most powerful and pointed words of both gentle love and firm correction. He drew attention to the fact that though Martha was busy tending to the needs of everyone in her home, she was missing what was most important. “One thing is needful,” Jesus said, “and Mary has chosen that good part.” According to Jesus, “one thing” stands above all others in our lives as being our greatest need. What is that one thing? Simply put, it is intimacy with Him. That is what Mary was experiencing as she sat quietly and lovingly at His feet, placing everything He had to say into her innermost being.

As I ponder the truth of our greatest need being intimacy with Jesus, I am reminded of how this kind of precious fellowship will work to glorify Him in each of our lives. In the New Testament, I find three clear experiences that can be ours when we reserve adequate time to sit expectantly at His precious feet.

1. Directs Us in Ministry (Acts 16:6-10)

Many of us are familiar with the predicament of the Apostle Paul. Desiring to be of service to Christ, he had attempted to carry the gospel to different areas and cities, only to be blocked and bothered by the Holy Spirit. A vision of a man eventually appeared unto Paul in the night to go to Macedonia, which brought the good news into Europe. Why should this testimony be important to us? Because I am thoroughly convinced that all of us who name the name of Jesus should live our lives, as did Paul, making life choices and ministry decisions based upon revelation, not reason. Henry Blackaby has attempted to instruct us of this principle of life in Experiencing God. When we learn that God is at work everywhere - that He chooses to pursue a love relationship with us - and that He will invite us to join Him in His work, this will move us away from holding “think sessions” to study statistics and strategies to formulate our future plans. Very few believers and churches, however, have this kind of intimacy. Plans often prove to be randomly selected based upon some kind of reasoning, which leads to confusion, failure, and lost opportunities to majestically exalt the name of Jesus. Intimacy with our Lord, on the other hand, will direct us into exciting ministry that will display His supernatural power working through our lives.

2. Delivers Us from Impurity (Galatians 5:16)

The only solution for the sin problem that we daily face is found in this one simple verse: “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The word “walk” in its root meaning has the idea to live by or to be occupied with. Therefore, the pathway to conquering those internal and external temptations is not found in our firm resolve, our tearful commitments, or participating in accountability groups. All of these are certainly important, and I would never desire to subtract from their significance. Deliverance, however, lies clearly in our fellowship with Christ and willingness to yield ourselves to His Spirit. As one pastor said to me, “Personal failure is nothing more than misplaced affection. Whenever we choose to love someone or something more than we love Jesus, we are on a pathway leading to destruction.” Good words, and powerful – Amen?

When we, like Mary, have our lives preoccupied and taken up with Christ, we will begin to live our lives on a different level. The face of Jesus will become so lovely to us, that the things of this world that tend to attract our flesh will lose their allurement. The words of this powerful hymn are true: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face; and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

3. Develops Us for Victory (Ephesians 6:10-20)

The Bible is clear concerning the fact that as we live this life of faith, we are on a battlefield, not a playground. The lives that have been ruined in failing to realize this truth surround us. God’s plan, however, is that we rise above the kingdom of darkness in their attempts to thwart His will being accomplished through our lives. The Bible says that we “are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.” It is His desire for us to wave the banner of Christ in triumphant celebration over our spiritual enemies. I firmly believe that as we read these verses in Ephesians concerning the armor of God, we will discover the very person of Christ being placed upon us for battle. After all, is He not our TRUTH, our RIGHTEOUSNESS, our PEACE, our FAITH, our SALVATION, and the WORD of GOD? And did not Paul instruct the church at Rome to “put on the Lord Jesus” in relation to victorious living? As we learn to appropriate by faith the authority and lordship of Christ in all that we face in our daily lives, we will find ourselves being developed into the conquerors that God calls us. For the Apostle Paul, this victory meant boldness to speak the truth of God even while he was imprisoned for his gospel preaching. For you, it may mean a victory in some other aspect of your life.

No matter what circumstances you might be facing in life, one thing is needful, intimacy with Jesus. As you and I draw close to Him, just in reach of even the hem of His garment, we will encounter an abundant life source that is overwhelmingly sufficient to meet our every need. Understanding our greatest need, may we adjust our lives to be more like Mary, and less like Martha. Spending time at the feet of Jesus is never wasted time, for it is when the God of eternity becomes the God of our reality, and what we encounter shall not be taken away.

I pray these thoughts will challenge and bless you as seek to please the Lord Jesus. I was recently blessed to preach this message at a local church, and it is available via their Facebook page. You should be able to find it here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3264328263876119

May God abundantly bless you in your service and ministry.