The Heart of Our Service

I wonder what was going through Mary’s mind, as she prepared for Jesus’ arrival for dinner.

Had she already decided to sit at His feet? Did she wonder if He'd mind? Did she have to convince herself to ignore judgemental comments?

What was it that Mary did? What decision did she make, that enabled her to sit at His feet and ignore social expectations? Surely, she had to be prepared.

Sometimes it seems like Mary and Martha are two sides of the same coin. Both with a heart to know and serve Jesus.

But this day, Mary was ready to sit at His feet and learn.

Who knows? Maybe she’d missed out before and had felt that heart-sinking regret, knowing there had been more for her if only she’d taken that step.

This day, she wasn’t going to miss out.

This day, surely, she had counted the cost and decided it was worth it.

This day, she would have silenced the insecure thoughts that ran wild, telling her to stay in her lane.

Warren W. Wiersbe says, “What we do with Christ is far more important than what we do for Christ, for submission leads to obedience and service.”

So often, our drive to do things for Jesus gets in the way of being with Him.

Serving is amazing and necessary and part of living with Jesus. But we must be mindful of our motive to serve.

Are we serving, hoping to increase the chances of our prayer being answered? Are we serving in hopes it will earn us a spot on that team at church?

Are we serving to silence the gnawing pain we cannot seem to get rid of?

Gosh, I find myself here. How about you, sis? There’s no shame. This stuff is real and hard.

Psalm 27:4 says, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord, all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple” (ESV).

Dwelling in the house of the Lord seems like such a dreamy thing to aspire to - and it is. But it takes sacrifice.

If we are to gaze upon His beauty, it means things will be left undone and people may misunderstand and judge us.

Let us courageously count the cost and proactively take that next step.

What’s one small way you can be with Him today?

Meet the Author
Joni Boyd

Joni lives in Sydney, Australia with her three grown kids and husband of two years, Nathan.

After being divorced several years ago, Joni is grateful for the healing God has since done in her family and in herself. While she never expected to be divorced or remarried, this season is a precious gift from God and she is grateful for all of it.

Joni is passionate about encouraging women to go deeper with Jesus - so they would know that while life may not be as smooth as we’d like, Jesus is not afraid of the mess, nor does He lack the power to heal and transform.