Only One Thing Is Important

“Only one thing is important.” Luke 10:42a (NCV)

Jesus said there was only one thing needful, only one thing is important, but very few of us operate our lives like that’s true. We find ourselves preoccupied with life’s demands. The tyranny of the urgent robs us of the one thing that is most important. What is that one thing that is so important and needful? Mary shows us in this story. It’s a common story descriptive of our own lives. Two sisters and a brother, friends of Jesus, offering hospitality to a friend in His ministry as they host Him in their home.

Luke tells us that Mary is “sitting at Jesus feet and listening to Him teach.” Luke 10:39 (NCV) Imagine that moment Mary was enjoying with Jesus. She is soaking in His presence with every word He speaks. She listened attentively and was the only one who seemed to gain insight into His death. That’s why she would later anoint Him with expensive perfume that Jesus said she did in preparation for His burial in John 12:7. That kind of spiritual insight comes when we do the one thing that is important, when we sit at our Savior’s feet and listen.

The one thing that is important in our lives is the presence of God. It’s the one thing that is most needful. We need God more than our daily bread. God designed us that way, and we are dysfunctional without Him. Have you found yourself, like Mary’s sister, Martha, so busy with life’s demands that you are running on empty? Maybe you’re just too busy. Stop! Don’t miss the presence of God in your zeal to serve Him. Hear the loving rebuke Jesus gave to Martha, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things. Only one thing is important. Mary has chosen the better thing, and it will never be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 (NCV)

Pause for a moment today. Do the one thing that is important. Then, like Mary, act on the spiritual insight you gain in His presence.