The next instance of our phrase “one thing,” is found in a well-known story about Martha. To her credit, Martha welcomed Jesus into her home (cf. Rev. 3:20), but during His visit she got distracted with all her preparations. She was irritated that her sister Mary was not helping, but was sitting at Jesus’ feet listening to His word. Remarkably, every time we meet Mary, she is at the feet of Jesus: in this passage we see her waiting at Jesus’ feet, when Lazarus died we see her weeping at Jesus’ feet, and lastly we see her worshiping at Jesus’ feet when she anointed them with spikenard.

The Lord had to gently rebuke Martha for her negative attitude. To be clear, her service itself was not wrong. She just did not have her priorities in the right order. Sitting comes before serving! While Martha became increasingly flustered, worried, and troubled about her checklists and unfinished work, Mary had chosen the one thing that was needed: fellowship with the Lord Jesus. Fellowship is even more important than service and should come first. In this proper order, it actually informs our service for the Lord. In everyday relationships, we have fellowship by spending time with each other and talking about the things that are important to us. It is the same in our relationship with the Lord! He speaks to us through the Bible, and we speak to Him through prayer.

Martha got it wrong this time, but later, in John 12, we see her serving in the right context. It is also lovely to see in John 11:5 that Jesus loved Martha and her sister. Although there was a difference in His approval in the first instance, there was no difference in His love for the two sisters. His love never changes, even when we fail!