Yemi brought this reflection brought after Jon had spoken at Encounter Sunday.

There is something that God revealed to me some time ago on Mary & Martha, I feel very burdened to share it.

I was going to preach one day on the story of Mary and Martha. People say, “I’m not a Mary, I’m a Martha. Or, I’m not a Martha, I’m a Mary”, and I was asking God, what does this really mean? Because in the passage in Luke 10, Christ specifically said one thing matters, Mary has chosen it.

When I asked God what it means, what came to me was this: that Martha was very busy trying to love the Lord - trying to take care of him. Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus, letting the Lord love her. There is a complete difference in the two.

Martha was trying to love God, like we all do as Christians - “I want to love God more”. Mary just sat there, saying “I’m Yours, love me.” And that changes the whole thing.

We are going to have a meal soon [at Encounter Sunday] and at this meal we’re going to sit down and have something to eat. Somebody said that what was happening in that particular story was this: when you go to someone’s house the host says: “You are in my house, sit down I will take care of you” - and that is what Martha was doing.

But in the case of Mary, she had changed it by saying “Jesus you are in my house, but you are the host - you serve me.” And that’s why He says she has chosen the best dish, “she has chosen for me to serve her”.

What Martha was doing was not wrong. But what Mary was doing was better.

Mary had chosen to allow Jesus to be the host and to serve her.

It looks very simple, but for me, I find it so powerful that what I need to do is let Him love me. And in letting Him love me, I can now love Him, love myself, and love people.