Seek then Serve

Luke 10:38-24 –

Now as they went on their way, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha received 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 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; one thing is needful, Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her.”

Seek then Serve

I think most of us have a little of Mary and a bit of Martha in us.  The blend of the two is different in each of us, challenging us to decide daily what our priorities are.   To enter the Kingdom, one must seek a relationship with Jesus through Scripture, prayer, meditation, and then, listen.   With the busyness of the world today, and the desire people have to collect money and possessions, there is little time left to seek God’s Kingdom.  But I would like to argue that too many of us are put the cart before the horse.  We dash around doing “good deeds,” trying to serve Jesus before we even have a relationship with him.  It’s the equivalent of walking around aimlessly, blindfolded – the living dead.

We all have the free will to chose –

searching for the Kingdom by seeking a relationship with Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit should be the priority.  If you are not alive in the Spirit, then, how possibly can you do the work of Jesus Christ?  Jesus is the God of the living, not the dead.

Genesis 18: 1-10 –

And the LORD appeared to him by the Oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.  He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men stood in front of him.  When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the earth, and said, my lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.  Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree, while I fetch a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on – since you have come to your servant. 

So they said, “Do as you have said.”  And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it and make cakes.”  And Abraham ran to the herd, and took a calf tender and good and gave it to the servant, who hastened to prepare it.  then he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree while they ate.

Seek then Serve

The LORD appears to Abraham at the door to his tent. And when Abraham looks up, he sees three men before him.  So, the LORD has presented three men to Abraham.  And what does Abraham do first?  He bowed himself down to the earth.  Did he kneel on the dirt with his knees?  Maybe.  But I believe he bowed from God’s Kingdom to the earth like a bow and arrow, a bridge, or a rainbow.  And we all know what’s at the end of the rainbow- God’s Kingdom.

What does Abraham do next? 

He tells the men to wash their feet and rest under the tree (tree of life) while he goes to fetch some bread.  Where does he go to fetch the bread, and what kind of bread do you think he is fetching?   Abraham goes to Sarah, who prepares a meal resulting in cakes(another term for bread) for these three men.  What kind of meal, one might ask?  I want to propose that it is the bread of life – the word of God.  And what kind of cake is Sarah preparing?  A birthday cake!  New birth in God’s Kingdom.

Then, Abraham runs to the herd and finds a calf for the meal, and the servant prepares the calf, adds some curd and milk, then stands with the three men at the base of the tree while they refresh themselves before passage into the Kingdom.  What kind of refresh?  A renewal?  A cleansing?  And I would be willing to bet that the men are standing erect before they enter the Kingdom.

Most interestingly to me, the men are the ones running all over the place to make these things happen.  The servant prepares the nourishment – calf, curd, and milk.  And Sarah?  Sarah makes the BREAD.  She’s in the tent creating!

It’s a woman who gives birth after all.

Just a thought.