Morning & Evening Devotional Reading–

 January 24– Evening

by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and edited by W. C. Neff

“Martha was distracted with much serving.” 

—Luke 10:40

Martha’s fault was not that she served.  Service should be part of every Christian’s life. “I serve,” should be our motto. Nor was it her fault that she had a lot to do. Most of us are not guilty of serving too much; so, let us serve all that we possibly can! Let head and heart and hands be much engaged in the Master’s service.

It was no punishment to Martha that she had the task of preparing a feast for her Master. She was happy, I’m sure, to entertain so special a guest and even more happy to throw her whole body and soul into her work. Her fault was that she grew “distracted with much serving” so that she forgot her guest and only remembered the service. She allowed service to override communion and so performed the one duty stained with the blood of another.

We ought to be like Martha and Mary in one. We should do much service and have much communion at the same time. For this, we need great grace.  It is easier to serve than to commune. Joshua never grew weary in fighting the Amalekites, but Moses, on the top of the mountain in prayer, needed two helpers to hold up his hands. The more spiritual the exercise, the sooner we tire of it. The choicest fruits are the hardest to collect; the most heavenly graces are the most difficult to cultivate.

Dear reader, we want to engage external duties, which are good in themselves, but we must not displace personal fellowship with Jesus. See to it that sitting at the Savior’s feet is not neglected, even if you do so under the specious pretext of serving him. The first thing for our soul’s health, the first thing for his glory, and the first thing for our own usefulness is to stay in perpetual communion with the Lord Jesus. This must be maintained over and above everything else in the world. [M&E]