Are you free?

How many times have you asked that question when desiring someone’s presence? How many times have you answered that question from someone desiring your presence? How many times have you rearranged your schedule to accommodate something or someone you deemed of high priority? In today’s society, busyness has become a standard for us especially women. We attempt to fulfill work schedules while serving in ministry and being wives, mothers, disciples, friends, the go-to person for our families amongst other things. We have made calendars and set reminders in an attempt to prioritize. We have scheduled self-care days and sought out ways to “find balance”. But if we are honest, we will admit that we continue to fall short with prioritizing our lives and in finding that balance. Let’s Talk!

Luke 10: 38-42 reads, “As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what he taught. But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.” But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Jewish culture highly valued hospitality while prioritizing women fulfilling certain societal roles. When reading this passage of scripture, Martha appeared to be fulling both cultural and societal standards as she focused on preparing dinner for Jesus. But as she met the cultural and societal standards, she found herself frustrated. Fueled by comparison stemming from man’s standards, she expressed her frustration to Jesus. He did not undermine her satisfactory fulfillment of the standards, but he did expose her worries. He pointed out that while she was being hospitable, she had neglected his very presence. According to society and the culture, she was right; but according to Jesus, she was distracted and out of alignment. On the other hand, Mary was not focused on working and fulfilling the standards. She had discovered that being in Jesus’ presence, at his feet, and being taught as his disciple was far more important than fulfilling any cultural and societal standard. Jesus validated that although Mary was “out of place” from Martha’s viewpoint, she was in the right place according to his viewpoint.

Does your life currently reflect being like Martha or Mary? Are you busy? Do you have any availability? Can you make time to sit at the feet of Jesus in his presence? Do you desire discipleship over the cultural and societal standards? Or would you rather be distracted to the point of frustration? Are you ready to surrender at the feet of the One who already has the plan written for your life? Will you answer his call and clear your schedule?

Today, Jesus is asking you, “are you free?”. He desires to talk with you. He desires his presence to be your priority. But He cannot speak to you if you are not available to hear his voice. He cannot force you to add him into your schedule. If you are distracted by your agenda, schedule, desires, societal roles, cultural standards, and a need to control the outcome, you will miss his call to you. And he is not obligated to continue to prompt you to answer that call. If you are worried about fulfilling man’s standards rather than being discipled by Jesus in his presence, you will not hear him calling. I encourage you today to rid yourself, your mind, your life, and your connections of any distractions attempting to keep you from sitting at Jesus’ feet in his presence. I encourage you to align yourself with the call from Heaven. I encourage you to make sitting at Jesus’ feet in his presence your everyday priority. TTYL!