Message by Larry Thacker Jr from September 1, “Only One Thing is Necessary”
A few years ago, I was praying, writing it down as I sometimes do, looking for inspiration for my next message. I started thinking about what I would do if things changed in the future. There was a good chance I could be laid off. How would I care for Linda? What about the church?
I sat there for a minute, then the story of Martha and Mary from Luke 10:38-42 came into my head. I started to write down my thanks for the idea for a message, but that it didn’t have much to do with what I was just praying about. Then it hit me. It had everything to do with it. The circumstances are different, but the message is the same. In that moment He might have said to me, “Larry, Larry, ‘you are worried and distracted by many things; but only one thing is necessary.”
Our lives are full of distractions. It’s not that they aren’t important. Jesus didn’t say that what Martha was doing didn’t need doing, though I wonder if she felt that way at the moment. The truth is, we wouldn’t function very well without the Marthas among us making sure everything gets done and practical needs are met. Martha was a faithful servant, and Jesus loved her as much as He did her sister Mary and brother Lazarus, whom he would later raise from the dead.
The question that came into my mind as i read this story was, “why did Luke, lead by the Holy Spirit, feel it important that we read about this incident. We have so little recorded of what Jesus said and did. Every detail has been given to us for at least one reason. I think there are several here, but to put it in a few words, it might be that we know more about who Jesus is and know that there is no better think than to be His disciple. Only one thing is necessary. Let us choose the good part. I did lose that job, and the one after that, but we were provided for and now I have an even better one. The time off was put to good use. I didn’t need to worry about anything. I just needed to listen to Jesus.
