11月18日

標 題：坐在耶穌跟前

經 節：馬大伺候的事多，心裡忙亂，就進前來，說：「主啊，我的妹子留下我一個人伺候，禰不在意嗎?請吩咐她來幫助我。」（路加福音十章40節）

馬大非常愛耶穌，她願意為祂做任何事。但馬大就是靜不住！馬大忙著伺候耶穌，根本沒有時間享受主的同在，或是能更認識祂。馬大愈辛勤服事，她心裡對馬利亞愈不滿。當馬大在房子裡匆促進出，忙得不可開交地事奉耶穌時，馬利亞卻坐在耶穌的跟前。馬大剛開始是興高采烈地事奉，但是她的服事漸漸變質，心中充滿憤怒和嫉妒。

要以服事耶穌來表達自己對祂的愛，固然是好事。但當服事占盡你的時間及精力，以致你沒有時間給主，那你就是太忙碌了。你可能會像馬大一樣想著，如果自己不動手做，這件事不會完成的。這也許是真的，然而，耶穌教導你，人生最高的優先順序應是你與主的關係。如果任何事情使你分心，疏忽了你與神的關係，這件事一定不是神的作為。神不會要你去做一些事，阻礙了你與基督的相交。有時候，事奉神及實行神指示的任務，的確是認識及體驗神的最佳方法。但其他的時候，安靜坐在祂的跟前聽祂說話，則更為重要。

我們並沒有被呼召得一直坐在耶穌的跟前，那會使我們的事奉一律停工。但祂也沒有呼召我們不斷地事奉，而不在基督裡重新得力。你是否殷勤地事奉神，卻沒有時間與祂獨處?

Sitting at Jesus’ Feet

But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." (Luke 10:40)

Martha loved Jesus dearly and would have done anything for Him. Her struggle came in being still! Martha spent so much time serving Jesus that she had no time to enjoy His company or to get to know Him better. The harder Martha worked, the more frustrated she became with her sister Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet while Martha scurried around the house to make sure everything was in perfect order for Jesus. Martha’s service, though it started out with gladness, deteriorated into resentment and envy.

It is good to want to serve Christ as an expression of love for what He has done for you. Yet when your activity consumes your time and energies so that you have no time for Him, you have become too busy! You may think, as Martha did, that if you don’t do the work, it won’t get done. That may be true, but Jesus taught that your highest priority must be your relationship with Him. If anything detracts you from that relationship, that activity is not from God. God will not ask you to do something that hinders your relationship with Christ. At times, serving God and carrying out His mission is the best way to know and experience God. At other times, it is more important to sit quietly at His feet and listen to what He is saying.

We are not called to continually sit at the feet of Jesus, otherwise our service for Him would cease. Neither are we called to serve Him incessantly, without taking time to find restoration in His presence. Have you been serving God so diligently that you have not had time to spend with Him?