.....needful

But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her  Luke 10:42

Mary Magdalene came looking for Jesus at a tomb and found Him alive. Another Mary, in Bethany, had found the same secret long before: the best place to be is near Him.

Jesus had come to the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, and Martha did what any good host would do. She cooked, served and hurried, determined to honor her guest. Mary did something that seemed almost careless. She sat at Jesus' feet and listened. Finally Martha protested: shouldn't her sister be helping? Surely the Lord could see that the work was not getting done.

One might ask, "What test is this? Martha wasn't sinning, and Mary wasn't doing anything heroic." That is what makes it so close to everyday life. Most of us are never tested on a mountain or at a cross. We are tested in a busy house, where good work slowly crowds out time with the One we are working for. Jesus did not scold Martha's service. He gently named her trouble: she was "careful and troubled about many things." Then He named Mary's choice: one thing is needful. Mary had chosen to receive before she gave, and Jesus said that choice would not be taken from her.

Ellen White puts the same truth at the heart of growing in Christ: "Our growth in grace, our joy, our usefulness—all depend upon our union with Christ. It is by communion with Him, daily, hourly—by abiding in Him—that we are to grow in grace" Steps to Christ, p. 69. Mary's place at His feet was not idleness. It was the source of everything else.

This is the piece that holds the whole thread together. Every person we have met, from Peter to the thief to Mary Magdalene, was changed by meeting Jesus. Mary of Bethany shows how that change continues: not by one great moment, but by coming back to Him day after day, hour after hour. Growth in grace is not mainly something we do for Christ. It is something that happens to us while we stay with Him.

Mary Magdalene teaches us that Jesus knows us by name. Mary of Bethany teaches us to sit still long enough to hear Him speak it. The work will always be there. The one thing needful is to stay near the One the work is for.