“Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”
A day is coming when we will fall to our knees and “lay our crowns at the feet of Jesus” (Revelation 4:10-11).
It will be a glorious day, a day beyond comprehension and our wildest imagination.
But we shouldn’t wait until then to bow before Him.
No, bowing at the feet of Jesus is something we should do on a regular basis.
Case in point…Mary (as in, ‘Mary and Martha’).
Every time we read about Mary in the Gospels, she’s at the feet of Jesus. In all kinds of situations, she lived at the feet of Jesus. You and I would be wise to follow her example.
Let’s look at three quick scenes from her life:
IN CONTEMPLATION: “Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said” (Luke 10:39).
As her sister, Martha, scurried around the house, Mary soaked up every syllable Jesus had to say. Nothing could’ve kept her from listening to His soul-enriching wisdom at that moment.
And like Mary, we can learn things at the feet of Jesus that we simply can’t learn anywhere else. Sitting at the Lord’s feet demonstrates humility, teachability, and a willingness to adjust our ways to His ways. We need to regularly make time to think deeply about His Word and allow it to penetrate every facet of our lives. To do this requires commitment, but the long-term benefits far outweigh the cost.
IN CRISIS: “When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she fell at His feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 10:32).
Heartbroken over the death of Lazarus, Mary collapsed at the feet of Jesus. She couldn’t understand why He allowed her brother to die, nor could she reconcile why Jesus was absent when she needed Him the most.
Have you ever been there?
When we experience a crisis, the best place to process the gut-wrenching pain and devastating grief is at the feet of Jesus. There, we can pour out our hearts to Him and discover that He is big enough to handle our raw, honest emotions. Jesus will not forsake us. And like Mary, we’ll come to understand that the crisis is not the end of the story.
IN CELEBRATION: “Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair” (John 12:3).
A few days after Jesus called Lazarus out of the grave, Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with priceless perfume. This was an extraordinary act of worship, demonstrating how much she loved Jesus.
Here’s the question: Will we still worship at the feet of Jesus when our crisis has passed? Even during times of celebration…when everything is going our way, will we still humble ourselves and declare that Jesus Himself is more valuable to us than His blessings?
I’m not sure what’s going on in your world today. Maybe you’re in a season of celebration. Perhaps you’re walking through a crisis. Or, most likely, you find yourself somewhere in between.
I pray that whatever your circumstances, you’ll seek to be like Mary.
Seize this very moment to bow at the feet of Jesus.
What are you waiting for?
Written by Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH
DID DEEPER
Read “Only One Way to Follow Jesus” by Michael Kelley