30 Day Sibling Challenge - Day Twenty-Six

Day Twenty-Six – Some Good Siblings
^“Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42).

Who invited Jesus into the house?

Who sat at the Lord’s feet?

Why did Martha not sit at the Lord’s feet?

How did she respond?

How did Jesus respond?

What was really wrong with Martha? 

What do you think she was more worried about? Maybe how Jesus would like her food or house? Or how she could get praise for her amazing housekeeping skills? Having the perfect cake to serve the Savior? Whatever it was she did not get the point of His visit. He does not need to be wowed and this visit proved that. Later we see Martha responding better. How this was just a moment of stressful selfishness.

I like the sibling group of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. They were not perfect. Yet they all lived together and cared well for one another. Martha was greatly gifted in hospitality and service, Mary was more contemplative giving out mercy and prayer. Lazarus was the kind brother who probably protected them.
This pleasant home was a place that Jesus often took refuge. They were his good friends. They loved spending time with Him. Jesus even raised Lazarus from the dead! Jesus ate with them, laughed with them, enjoyed company with them. They were comfortable with one another.

Mary knew that hanging on to Jesus every word was very important. So she did this. However, Martha got distracted and focused on something unimportant and took it out on Mary. Martha thought Mary should be doing more helping when really Martha should have been doing more visiting.
Today’s Action
Look up this family and read something else about them from your Bible. Discuss what was good about them. Think about how you can learn from their example or Jesus’ words.

Parent’s Action
Help your kids find another story about this family and help them with a conversation about it. Try to help them see areas of unimportance that they may tend to focus on instead of Jesus.