41 The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41–42 (CSB)

This story is often told from the perspective that Martha is bad for doing the housework and Mary is good for learning at Jesus' feet. While you may find it a relief that household chores are evil, I don't think that's exactly what Jesus is getting at. Let's look a little deeper.

While Mary and Martha were sisters, they were very different women. We see their personalities in other stories, and each time we see them, Martha seems to be more type-A, while Mary is more type-B.

But Martha is not the villain. She did a wonderful thing. In verse 38, she welcomed Jesus into her home. She was living out the gospel in many ways by being hospitable to Jesus. This is beautiful and good. Martha was not immoral for showing hospitality. We could learn a lot from Martha's open home. I also assume that Martha was a boss lady. She was probably the type of woman who could enter a space and make things happen. If you wanted a project done and done with excellence, you gave it to Martha. In many ways, Martha embodied the Proverbs 31 woman.

I don't want to add too much to Mary's profile, but I can imagine how she may have been less boss and more present. She seems like more of a people person. Mary would have been someone you were happy to confide in. It seems like Mary was also more emotionally driven. In the story where her brother Lazarus was raised from the dead, Martha met Jesus and explained the terrible situation, but Mary blamed Jesus and refused to even talk to him.

Each personality has its strong points and weak points. The truth is that the world needs Marys and Marthas. In this story, Martha's issue was not her hospitality but her worry and her distracted activities. She had the Son of God in her living room, but she was most concerned with cooking the perfect meal and setting the perfect table. While doing our best for Jesus is good, it should never be at the expense of time with him.

In our ongoing relationship with Jesus, it is important to find where we fall short and work on being obedient in that area. Some of you are more like Martha, you are worried about many things. You need to worry less, take a breath, and be present with Jesus. Others of you are like Mary. You would be happy just to hang out, but you never get anything done. Marthas need to become a little more like Marys and Marys like Martha.

God created you unique, but never allow your uniqueness to be an excuse for not giving Jesus what is most important.

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love. Galatians 5:6

If I had a dollar for every time that someone told me a story and I completely missed the point at first, I would be a very rich man. We all go through life with presuppositions and worldviews that shape the way that we interact with people and intake information, but the way that we do that doesn’t always paint the full picture of reality. This is especially true when we get into matters of our own lives and hearts in relation to the truth of God. We have a tendency to think higher of ourselves than we should, and it leads to doing religious actions in order to feel good about ourselves or so that other people would think higher of us. We miss the point. This is what Paul is getting at in this passage speaking to the Galatians.

When we read about circumcision in the New Testament, it usually refers to the law or the ritualistic nature of doing things to earn salvation. We know that is Scripture is clear that Salvation comes through faith alone in Christ alone, but we somehow still fall into this trap of doing things in order to try and earn God’s favor. Paul sees this in the church of Galatia and tries to help explain that the foundation of Salvation is God’s love. It’s all Him. It isn’t a “meet me halfway” kind of thing. It is something that only God can do, and our part of Salvation is to accept His grace and put our faith in Him and the forgiveness that Jesus made possible for us at the cross.

Paul, however, seems to be speaking to the church. Meaning, he’s speaking to people that are already believers but are still living lives that seek to do the things that look right instead of living in God’s love. I love the question that Francis Chan asks in the workbook this week. Can you really say that the things you do are characterized by love? What a convicting thought. We have to start with Christ’s love for us and then act in love towards those around us. It’s not about going to church or serving on a team or giving money. It’s about living life in such a way that your love for God and love for others is the stand-out characteristic of your life.

This week, take some time really think about why you do the things that you do. Why do you come to church? Why do you bring your kids to church? Why do you sing or not sing the worship songs? Why do you give or not give money? Why do you invest in certain relationships and not in others? The list could go on and on. This is not meant to be a ploy to make you do more or give more, etc. Rather, it’s a reminder that God first loves us, and our response to Him is how we love Him back and how we love others. I would ask that when you pray, read scripture, serve at church, and all of the other religious things that you do; consider your “why” behind those actions. Focus on the God who is and should be your “why.”

Congrats! You made it through week 6 of Crazy Love. Now go to community group and share, learn, and enjoy time with your church family.