PRIMACY OF DIVINE INTIMACY

“But ONE THING is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be away from her” – Luke 10:42

There is no better conclusion to this month’s meditations than the PRIMACY of DIVINE INTIMACY: “But ONE THING is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be away from her” (Lk.10:42). Mary demonstrated this in the account of the visit of the Lord Jesus Christ to their home. While Martha was distracted by all the preparations, “worried and troubled about many things,” Mary sat quietly at the Master’s feet, focused on Him, listening to His living words. She had made a wise choice. She chose the good portion which could not be taken away from her. This is the one thing that’s needful for us in a world filled with things that cause anxiety and trouble.

As she did all the work, busy Martha got frustrated and asked “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me” (v.41). The Lord replied that unlike Martha who was torn between “many things,” Mary had discovered the ONE THING most important, by choosing to sit at Jesus’ feet, undistracted. The Lord would not take this privilege from Mary. His response is critical for us to consider. Work of service for the Lord – what’s called ministry – must always flow from our sitting at His feet. The life of a true follower of Christ is lived in the Intimacy of His Presence and then finds expressions in service, driven by the virtues that flow from the encounter.  

The story teaches us to rightly define what is most important – what must be priority, the “ONE THING” to do, rather than fall into the trap of the urgent but unimportant. Intimacy with God must be our first priority before anything else, even before our works of service. Sometimes we should stop serving and sit! It’s vitally important that we keep first things first. When our love for God gets first and priority attention, then we will function in spiritual wholeness. But when our priorities are inverted and we begin to place more emphasis on loving other things than loving God, we are headed for certain burnout. To avoid an eventual collapse, we must keep returning to our first love.

Beloved, our presence with God is more important to Him than anything we do. We are not primarily workers for God; but, first and foremost Lovers of God. The Holy Spirit is profoundly committed to restoring the first commandment – the Law of Love – to first place in our lives (Mt.22: 37-38). We need not have the Lord remove our ministries before realizing that Intimacy with Him is more important than work for Him. The ministry must never become the fountain of our souls. We must learn to come to God simply for the joy and delight of who He is! Let’s be people of “One Thing”: the passionate pursuit of His Face!