Have you ever read about Martha in the Bible? I can relate to Martha in so many ways. If I’m totally honest, I am Martha! Maybe you are, too. 

I love reading about Martha and her siblings, Mary and Lazarus! What an incredible “real life” story we have available to us from the books of Luke and John. One of the things I love most that this family was known for is that they were close personal friends of Jesus. He seemed to enjoy spending time with them in their home. Martha hosted Jesus and the disciples on more than one occasion.

So, like any good “Martha” would do when you know that company is coming, you want to make sure the house is clean and smells good and is welcoming. You want to prepare your best meal. You want to make sure to serve that dessert you are famous for! The coffee is always ready and there are several delicious creamers to choose from….am I right? Are you starting to see yourself in this picture at all? 

While there was really nothing wrong with Martha preparing the meal that would be served and making sure her home would be comfortable and welcoming for her guests, she chose to remain busy and in so doing, missed the best part! She forgot to sit and enjoy the presence of her guest. Her dear friend Jesus was in the family room! 

Martha even felt comfortable walking into the room and complaining to Jesus about her sister Mary! (That part is a little amusing, actually.) She needed help in the kitchen and she was hoping to get Jesus to see things her way - maybe even reprimanding Mary for not helping to  prepare and serve the meal. But, that’s not at all what Jesus did. Instead In Luke chapter 10 we read what Jesus did say to her...

“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” 
Luke 10:38-42

In other words, a simple meal would have been fine. There was no need to go to all that extra effort, right? She was so worried about the serving and the perfecting that Martha took her eyes off of her Savior. In the busyness of “doing,” she lost her peace. 

I have to admit that this is me on so many occasions! Maybe you love to entertain, have people over for dinner, or just invite a friend for coffee. Maybe you go a tad bit overboard when you know someone is coming to stay for a few days, driving everyone around you crazy while you’re striving for perfection. You see, Mary chose the “good portion.” She didn’t want to miss anything that Jesus had to say while He was in their home. 

But before we are too harsh on Martha, I think it’s important that we notice something else about her in John, chapter 11: 

“Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany; the village of Mary and her sister Martha. It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, he whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.’ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” ……. 

Next, we see an amazing statement of faith from Martha...not Mary! 

“Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days. Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Your brother will rise again.’ Martha said to him, ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, although he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?’ She said to him, ‘Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.’”

Notice that when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she got up and went out to meet Him! Mary, on the other hand, remained in the house in grief. Can’t you just sense Martha’s boldness in this text? “Lord, if you had been here …” 

We often overlook Martha’s faith in the statements she made. She firmly believed that had Jesus been there, her brother would not have died! And yet, in verse 22 note that her faith is still very much alive. “But even now I know that whatever you ask from God, God will give you”  I love that...an “even now” bold faith. Martha believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God who had come into the world! Martha’s faith was rewarded that very day as her brother Lazarus was miraculously resurrected from the dead. 

Mary chose to sit at the feet of Jesus, to listen, and to just lovingly be in His presence. She chose to worship Him. But, I like to think that Martha learned a valuable lesson from her sister and her dear friend Jesus on the day of her service in Luke Chapter 10, too! I believe she learned the balancing of her acts of service with her worship. 

Why do I believe that?  When all seemed lost, we see that Martha trusted her Lord! And she understood who He was. I especially love the way the Passion Translation phrases it in the Book of John. 

“Then Martha replied, “Yes, Lord, I do! I’ve always believed that you are the Anointed One, the Son of God who has come into the world for us!” 

Finally, in John 12, we see Martha serving...the right way. 

“Six days before the Passover began, Jesus went back to Bethany, the town where he raised Lazarus from the dead. They had prepared a supper for Jesus. Martha served, and Lazarus and Mary were among those at the table. Mary picked up an alabaster jar filled with nearly a liter of extremely rare and costly perfume—the purest extract of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet. Then she wiped them dry with her long hair. And the fragrance of the costly oil filled the house.”

Again, Mary was at the feet of Jesus. Martha was serving. But, this time Martha is not complaining or demanding help - she is simply serving her dear friend Jesus! Isn’t it so true when our attitude changes for the better, the very atmosphere around us changes? Martha is such a powerful life lesson. May we too always remember the crucial “balance” of service and worship to our Savior Jesus, The Christ, The Anointed One, The Son of God! 

Have you ever gotten that eerie feeling that someone was watching you? It feels uncomfortable and you look around but you don’t see anyone. But, they are there. They are the little nuggets we call children. You see them playing and you don’t realize they are watching and listening, but they are. They are watching each and every move we make. They are listening to every word we say. Children are like a human Alexa. All the time, they are tracking and recording us. 

Being reminded of that, what is your first thought? Do you think “Oh no, they are watching and mimicking me?! They have a front row seat with no obstructions blocking their sight or hearing.” 

Let me ask you, Mom and Dad, what are your mannerisms like? Do you speak in a respectful way to each other or do you have a sarcastic tone? If you are being honest with yourself, is your home a happy place? Are you patient or do you snap? Are you consistent in showing unity or are you divided? Are they seeing the love of Jesus on display? Are you being affectionate with them? Are you helpful and encouraging? 

Simply put, every day you are building your child’s template for life. You are laying the foundation for your children to build on. The only question is...is it a solid foundation? Have you laid out a good template?

We all want to leave our children a good inheritance. I’m not talking about a monetary inheritance but rather a foundational inheritance. In this world where we experience more lies than truth, more hate than love, and more fear than joy, you have an opportunity to carve out a template that points them to the magnificent love of Jesus. But, here’s the catch: they have to see the love of Jesus in their home first each and every day and not just occasionally.                                               

In my 74 years, I’ve learned that if you put forth very little effort, you get very little back. But, if you work hard at doing what is right the results can be astounding.

Parents, if you work together at home getting those dreaded chores accomplished, children sense unity and experience peace with no harsh words. When they see affection and respect, they feel safe. When they hear strife and see a deficit of affection, they feel insecure.

Raising kids and shaping their legacy is a very serious responsibility God has placed on you. It’s not a matter of bringing your “A-game” because it’s not a game. Being a parent is a life-changing decision on your part to be the best example you can be. It’s all about the template you choose to lay out for them. Why not make it the best template you can possibly give them?

In Matthew 19:13 Jesus says “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them for the kingdom of heaven belongs to each of these.”

Do not hinder them. Let them see and experience those things that point them straight to Jesus. Our testimonies are useless if they are not pointing our children to Him.                              

You see, our spouses and children are a generous gift from God Himself. We must treat them with that in mind. God hand picked them just for you. If you don’t have a spouse or children yet, but wish to one day, why not start living now in such a way that will be an example for future generations? We must always treat those we hold most dear with love and respect. When we do, that love and respect will be returned many times over as you watch the fruit of a beautifully created template blossom!

What does the word “honor” mean in our culture today? If you’re perusing Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or whatever the latest social media platform is, it doesn’t seem like honor means much, or anything at all, really. Sadly, in our world today, honoring someone that you disagree with isn’t our natural response because the two don’t naturally co-exist in our minds. Just like I’m still unable to rub my belly and pat my head at the same time, so many people in our world today struggle to have a civil conversation with someone with whom they don’t see eye to eye. They don’t understand how to honor despite a difference of opinions.

There’s a story in the Bible that I’m always drawn to. Like so many of the stories about Jesus, it has so many layers and many things we can learn from it, so I find myself here regularly. This time around, I found three things that I believe can and will help each and every single one of us grow and walk in honor daily. In Luke 7:36, Jesus had been invited to a dinner at the home of a religious leader. During the dinner, we see an immoral woman come in and begin to kiss the feet of Jesus, wash them with her tears, dry them with her hair, and pour out an alabaster jar of perfume on his head and feet. The man who was hosting the dinner (a religious leader, mind you) thought to himself (remember, I’m paraphrasing here), “Man, if this joker really is who he claims to be, there is no way he would let that woman touch him.” Jesus of course goes on to do His Jesus things…giving out wisdom that honestly feels like a kick in the teeth. But, I want to focus on His words starting in verse 44:

Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet,but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.
Luke 7:44-46 

Here are the three things I noticed in the words that Jesus speaks that we can use today to help us show honor:

1. BE HUMBLE. Verse 38 in this story actually says the woman placed herself behind Jesus. She was not only behind him but she positioned herself at His feet. This shows us a posture of humility. We have to posture ourselves in a place of humility if we are to honor others and follow the example of Jesus. If we stand in a position of pride, viewing ourselves as higher than others, we’ll never be able to honor others, as we will view them as beneath us. Romans 12:10 says that we are called to  “Honor one another above yourselves.”

2. WATCH YOUR LIPS. Jesus pointed out to the religious leader that He was not given a kiss when he entered the home, despite it being the custom in those times. The woman, however, had not stopped kissing his feet since she entered the home. This is where we have to ask ourselves, what are we doing with our lips? Are we using our words to edify and build up those around us? The woman used hers to show affection and love, while Simon the Pharisee used his to judge Jesus.

3. ACKNOWLEDGE THE ANOINTING. Jesus states that Simon not only disregarded the custom of giving Jesus a kiss, but he also failed to follow through with anointing his head with oil. However, the woman not only did this by pouring oil on the head of Jesus (as told in another Gospel), but she also covered His feet with it. When you choose to honor someone (note that honor is a choice), you are choosing to acknowledge the anointing and calling on their life.
   

Alright, so I know what some of you might be thinking at this point: “Yeah, but that’s Jesus. I can honor Jesus. But my jerk coworker or my mother-in-law or that idiot on Facebook that is always spewing out his political views? Nope, I can’t do that.”

So how do you honor the dishonorable? The first step that has to be taken is realizing that honor is about what you decide, not what they deserve. Aren’t you thankful that God didn’t give us what we deserved? That’s called mercy. Not only that, but God gave us what we didn’t deserve. That’s called grace. 

The definition of honor is to value something. When you start to treat something or someone as if it is common, you’re actually dishonoring them. This means that the level of honor you give is determined by the amount of value that you perceive. We have to begin to see everyone (including that co-worker or that family member or even that guy on Facebook) as valuable. Why? Because God sees them as valuable - so valuable in fact that He sent Jesus to die the death that we all deserved. So when we choose to honor others (even the dishonorable), we are choosing to honor God. I challenge you to go out today and freely give honor. Don’t make others earn it. As we walk in this, we will  become fluent in the language of honor. And as we do, I truly believe that the God we serve will honor us in return.