The one thing needful
Mary at his feet
Jesus came to the home of two sisters, and they received him in two very different ways. Martha threw herself into serving — bustling, preparing, working to honor her guest with a worthy meal. Mary simply sat down at Jesus' feet and listened to him. When Martha, overwhelmed and resentful, demanded that Jesus send Mary to help, his answer gently reordered everything.
Martha, Martha, he said, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken from her. He did not condemn Martha's service — the kingdom needs hands. But he named a danger in it: that the many good things can crowd out the one needful thing, and busy service for Jesus can quietly replace simple attention to Jesus himself.
Mary's posture — seated at his feet, listening, present to him — is the one thing that underlies every pathway. Whatever road you travel to God, naturalist or activist, intellectual or caregiver, the center of all of them is this: attentive presence to Jesus himself. The pathways are many; the one thing needful is the same for everyone. We can be so busy with our way of serving God that we forget to sit and be with him.
“One thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
— Jesus, in the home of Martha and Mary — Luke 10:42 (WEB)
Beneath your pathway, keep Mary's posture — seated at Jesus' feet, attentive and present to him — the one thing needful underneath every way of drawing near.
“She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.”
The most effective way to neglect Jesus is not to abandon him but to stay busy for him, letting worthy service and study and worship fill the day so full that simple presence never fits. The interior work is to recover Mary's posture at the center of whatever pathway you walk — seated, attentive, present to him — refusing to let the many good things crowd out the one Person they were all meant to reach.
This week, amid all your doing for God, deliberately sit at his feet: set aside time with no task but attention to Jesus — listening, present, with him — and let that presence anchor everything your pathway does.
The enemy need not lure you into sin to lose you; he need only keep you busy for Jesus and absent from him, burying simple presence under a heap of worthy activity. Yet a soul that sits at his feet has chosen the good part that cannot be taken away, and all the doing in the world cannot bury it once it is chosen.
It is possible to be endlessly busy for Jesus and rarely present to him — to fill our days with service, study, activism, and worship while quietly neglecting the one thing he actually named as needful: sitting at his feet, attentive, listening, simply with him. Martha's anxious bustle is the perennial temptation of the active soul, and Jesus loved her too much to leave her in it.
This is the truth that anchors every pathway and keeps it from drifting. Your way of drawing near is a gift, but it can become so busy that it crowds out the Person it was meant to reach. Beneath all the doing is the one thing needful — to be with him. So whatever your pathway, do not lose Mary's posture in the middle of it. Have you been so occupied with serving God along your pathway that you forgot to simply sit at his feet?
- Am I busy for Jesus but rarely present to him?
- Has my pathway crowded out simply being with him?
- When did I last sit at his feet with no task but attention?
Lord, I am anxious and busy about many things, even good things done for you, and I forget the one thing needful. Teach me Mary's posture — to sit at your feet and listen — and let attentive presence to you anchor all my doing. Amen.