A Few Thoughts On Martha

    Martha, Martha, Martha.
    Anyone know who I'm talking about? The Bible's Martha? Sister of Lazarus and alabaster-jar Mary, housekeeper, "make my sister help me with these chores" Martha?
    She's cool! Flawed like every other human being, but still a great role model. In spite of the fact that she's only in a few chapters in half of the gospels, a person can learn a lot of things about and from her in those appearances. For example . . .
    -She worried. A lot. And lots of us can relate to this. In Luke 10:41 (NKJ), Christ plainly tells her, "'Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed,'". That "one thing" He spoke of was Himself, fellowship with Him. And as Martha learns that, we do as well. The answer to all our anxieties is to spend time with the Lord, to hear His words.
    -Martha also served people. She was the one who invited Christ into the family's house (Luke 10:38), and during His visit she ran all over the place to serve Him. Verse 40 of Chapter 10 (NKJ) states that her "much serving" was being a distraction to her. But her intentions were noble, and she was definitely working as hard as she could to respect and honor the Lord; which is something good to do in a non-distracting way.
    -She got irritated when she thought her sister was shirking her duties. Most if not all people with siblings understand this. It's annoying when someone equal to you doesn't do their share! The words Martha uses in Luke 10:40 (NKJ) are: "'Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.'" But Mary hadn't been intentionally leaving her sister to do all the work; she just wanted to be with Jesus. We with siblings could be often wrong about the way we think of them. Their "laziness" in our eyes could in reality be something completely different. This instance seems to be a really great example of that.
    -Martha ran the household. Never once are the parents of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus mentioned, and both Lazarus and Martha seem to be adults, which are pretty strong indicators that the parents had at that point passed on. The Bible never mentions a spouse of Lazarus or Martha in the picture either, which suggests to me that it's very probable that Martha took up full responsibility to care for her siblings as soon as their parents died. Whether that was the case or not, at the time of their roles in the gospel, Martha was the one running the house (a job that carries some serious responsibility and dedication), and she seemed to have been doing an impressive job.
    -Martha believed that Jesus is the Christ. The words she speaks in John 11:27 are pretty clear on that matter. She believed in Him, believed what He said, and had respect for Him.
    -Martha also knew that Christ can do anything, but she seemed afraid to dare to ask Him to. That was what I perceived when I read John 11:21-24. She says that she knows her brother wouldn't have died if He'd been on the scene, and that even after the death, anything He wished would happen. But she never flat-out asks "Lord, please bring my brother back to life." I sometimes feel that way when I'm praying for something, don't you? Knowing that God could do it, but not wanting to be greedy asking the Lord for "too many" blessings. It prompts a bit of nervousness and guilt that the Lord doesn't want us to have. Little had Martha known that what she was afraid to ask the Lord for was the very reason He came at that time!
    Martha's one of my favorite people in the Bible. The way the Lord comes into her life and the lives of the rest of her family is so wonderful and beautiful and a great learning experience.
    What do you like about Martha?