Time Out

Visualize this scene:  Unexpected company has just called and will be at your home in 15 minutes.  The place is a mess!  Do you:

• As quickly as possible put things away and do some quick cleaning.
• Quickly stuff things out of sight (under the bed, in the closet, in the back seat of your car).
• Nothing.  What they see is what they get.
• Nothing.  My place is never a mess.

In Matthew 10 we read about two sisters expecting company. This was not just any company; Jesus was coming for a visit! One sister, Martha, went about handling all the preparations for this special guest, before and during his visit. The other sister, Mary, simply sat at his feet and listened to what he had to say. Jesus invited Martha to relax a little and commended Mary for her interest in what he had to say. You can read this entire short story in Matthew 10:38-42.
Do you identify with one or the other of the sisters? What circumstances might cause you to react like Martha and other circumstances like Mary?

We all have tasks and responsibilities that demand our attention. And certainly, we want to offer hospitality to a guest in our home. But Jesus was less concerned about the details of the event as he was about the life-changing message he wanted to share with them. Jesus was calling them to a relationship with him through that message. Elsewhere in the Bible, we are called to give our total selves to God and to serve him as he leads. He instructs us to “not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will (Romans 12:1-2)." He invites us into a transformational relationship. He describes it as becoming a new creation. “The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-19).” So not only do we get to receive this new life, we have the privilege of sharing this good news with other so they can have it too!

4832 Ponderings:

• What are some transformations that have occurred in your life (spiritual as well as other)?
• In what ways does God transform us?
• What role do we play in our transformation?
• In what way(s) do you want to be transformed?

Closing Prayer of Transformation:
Dear God in heaven, take my life and shape it into the person you want me to be. Thank you for the gifts you have given me to be of service you and to others, and thank you for sending Jesus to bring us into new relationship with you! In his name we pray, Amen!