W hat T ruly M atters
is our
R elationship W ith C hrist
By Alle Roley
O
ne of my favorite
passages in the
Bible, found in Luke
10, is about a woman
named Martha. Mar-
tha’s brother Lazarus
was Jesus’s friend.
Jesus actually raised
Lazarus from the dead,
so I would venture to
call them pretty great
friends.
As Jesus was travelling
from Galilee one day,
he stopped in the little
town where Martha
and her sister Mary
lived. He was tired and
needed somewhere to
rest for a while. Imag-
ine Martha’s surprise
when- on a normal
page 30
morning while run-
ning her usual er-
rands- she comes face
to face with Jesus in
the middle of town!
Not only that, but he
needed a place to stay.
I can easily put myself
in Martha’s shoes right
now. Martha was a
busy girl. She had food
to cook and a house to
clean and animals to
feed and people to see
and places to go and
things to do. She had
a long list that needed
checking off and she
was in the zone that
morning. But then…
Jesus was here! Jesus
was right in front of
her, asking her for her
time. So she leads Him
back to her home.
“As Jesus travelled,
He entered a village.
A woman named
Martha welcomed
Him and made Him
feel at home.”
Luke 10:38
Martha welcomed
Jesus and made him
feel at home. In today’s
context, I can imagine
inviting someone to
step through my front
door into a house that
smells lightly of warm
sugar vanilla, taking
their coat and offering
them a steaming mug
of coffee, sitting down
at my table in the
middle of a spotless
kitchen with a beauti-
ful vase of flowers in
the center and asking
them how they’re do-
ing, because clearly I’m
doing great.
I can picture Mary
in this story, too. I
picture her care-free
and easy-going, full of
joy and wonder. The
Bible says that as soon
as Jesus entered their
home, Mary was at his
feet, eager to spend
time with Him and
soak up His presence.
“Martha had a sis-