Luke 10:38 Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. 39 She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. 40 But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; 42 there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”

I’d like to think if Jesus were sitting in my home offering his teaching, I’d choose time with Jesus over cooking a meal, but who knows. Hospitality was a very important value in ancient Israel so the pressure to feed their guest would have been significant. Martha feels like Mary dumped dinner on her, and maybe she did. But Jesus would not scold Mary for her choice.

I don’t have meals to prepare in the mornings when I read scripture, but other tasks call out to me. There are mornings when I think I don’t have the time to read and reflect on God’s word. I can rationalize my choices no matter what they are. But the truth is every day that I read and write, I’m saying no to important things so I can say yes to the most important.

The same is true for you, of course, in your reading this blog and whatever else you do as a spiritual discipline. I want to commend you for showing up, for saying no to other things in order to be here. And in the times when you’re tempted to skip your reading, remember there are believers all over the world sharing in your temptation and choosing God’s word along with you. Praise be to God!