part 1 of “uncomplicated”
This is the start of a new year. A new year where God is STILL with us, God is STILL for us, and God STILL has good plans for us. Even though this year is starting much like the last one ended, however, we can have hope going into this year that things can only be better. In last week’s blog post, I introduced my word of the year which is uncomplicated. (If you have not checked out that blog post or podcast episode go and check it out.) We also looked at a story in Luke 10 about Mary and Martha and we will continue to check in with that story throughout this series. In the story, Mary and Martha are both handling a complicated situation, however, they are both handling the situation differently. So, I ask the question… how do you fill up your bucket?
We all have tasks and other things that go into our bucket. We have to go shopping and to work. We have those errands to run. We have to get the kids to and from school or started on their e-learning. We have to make sure that they are doing their e-learning. We have to make sure that homework is getting done. We have to clean the house. We have to make dinner. We have to clean up after dinner. I have probably missed some things and could go on but you get the idea.
So like Mary, we all have things that fill up our bucket. Mary was “distracted by all of the preparations that had to be made” (Luke 10:40, NIV). She had cooking, cleaning, and whatever else could fall in the category of “preparations” all in her bucket. But Martha had those same things all in her bucket as well. But Martha was adding one thing into her bucket that Mary had forgotten about and to be honest we can forget about it too. Martha was adding Jesus to her bucket as she was sitting at Jesus’ feet “listening to what he said” (Luke 10:39, NIV). Jesus confirms this when Mary complains that Martha is not helping her when He tells Mary “Mary has chosen what is better” (Luke 10:41-42, NIV).
Here are two things that I believe Jesus is teaching Mary, Martha, and us from this story.
The first thing that I feel Jesus is telling us in this short story is we need Jesus and the presence of his words in our bucket. In the story, we see that Martha was listening to what Jesus was saying and hanging on His words [1]. The presence of Jesus and His words in Martha’s bucket was creating a feeling of peace and calm in her even though she had other things in her bucket. Martha was able to rest for a bit and receive some teaching from Jesus. Mary, on the other hand, just had everything that she needed to do without any comforting words from Jesus in her bucket to create a balance. This caused her to be irritated as her sister – and Jesus – because she was doing all the work [1].
This can be true for us as well. If we don’t have the words of Jesus in our bucket to lean on we can become easily irritated with others over the things in our bucket. But just like with Mary and Martha, Jesus is present with us. Jesus is there and ready to be of help when we are overwhelmed by all of the things that are in our buckets. However, we need to make room in our bucket for Jesus and His words. We can get so busy with the stuff in our bucket that we don’t take the time to see what Jesus has to say that could encourage us and help us. Mary had forgotten this and we do as well. I am not saying that Mary had never had the words of Jesus in her bucket, but at this time presence of the words of Jesus needed to be replenished. The same is true for us as well. We may read or hear a word from Jesus that we put in our bucket and it sustains us for a day or several days. But at some point, we need to replenish that part of our bucket. We see Martha doing this in the story. She is replenishing the Jesus encouragement in her bucket and she is doing that by resting at the feet of Jesus.
Rest is the second thing I believe that Jesus is teaching in this story. This is a big deal to Jesus. Rest is important for the beginning. In Genesis 2, we see God take a rest after creating the world. Then here in this story, Jesus is all for Martha resting at His feet. Jesus is also seen throughout the Gospels to have retreated to quiet places and rest and recharge [3]. Jesus also taught this to His disciples. In Mark 6, we see the disciples return and meet up with Jesus after the ministry tour they had been on. They told Jesus all that they had done and taught on the trip. Then the first thing that Jesus says is “Then Jesus said, ‘Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile’” (Mark 6:31, NLT). Jesus knew that they needed some rest and eat after being on their trip. He also knew that a crowd was gathering and that there was not a lot of time. So they got on a boat and went away to be alone. But the crowds saw them and began to follow and arrived ahead of the disciples and Jesus [2].
This was a constant thing for Jesus and his disciples. Since the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, there were always people around Jesus. People followed Jesus everywhere that He went. It is that reason why I believe that Jesus and his disciples used little boat trips from time to time. They used these little boat trips so that they could rest and refuel away from the crowds that followed them all over [3].
Jesus was human and He knows that we need to rest and recharge. We need rest in our buckets too. If Jesus needed rest, we do as well. We need to recharge and get away from the other stuff in our bucket. Jesus knew the importance of this. He knew that He was on Earth to serve and help people. But He also knew that He needed to take care of Himself or He would not be the best for people and that He would have probably become irritated. Jesus was human after all. I think sometimes we forget that and we let the fact that He was God distract us from the fact that He was human too and that He experienced life just like we do (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus understands what is in our buckets. Jesus knows what is in our buckets.
So how do you recharge? What is in your bucket that helps you recharge? Does being with family help? Does reading a book help? Does playing a video game help? Does going on a walk help? Does going on a drive help? Does listening to music help? Does writing a journal help?
Also, do you have the words of Jesus in your bucket? Spending time at the feet of Jesus is a good thing. The words of Jesus recharge us and encourage us. The words of Jesus can remind us and lift us up. Slowing down and getting a good word and truth from Jesus is a very good uplifting experience. How do you connect best with Jesus? How do you best hear the words that Jesus is trying to say? Where do you hear Jesus best?
We can’t do much about some of the things that are in our buckets. But what we can do is make sure that Jesus is in our buckets. Get Jesus in your bucket for He is the sustainer of life (Psalm 54:4, NIV).
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Resource for the "uncomplicated" series is Simplify by Bill Hybels.
[1] Luke 10:38-42, NIV, NLT, MSG
[2] Mark 6:30-34, NLT
[3] Matthew 8, Matthew 14, Mark 4, Mark 6
Bill Gaultiere, Jesus’ Solitude and Silence, Soul Shepherding, https://www.soulshepherding.org/jesus-solitude-and-silence/
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