January 24, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"Martha was cumbered about much serving." — Luke 10:40 · KJV

Her fault was not that she served: the place of a servant well becomes every Christian, and "I serve" should be the motto of all the princes of heaven's royal family. Nor was it her fault that she had "much serving" — we cannot do too much; let head and heart and hands all be engaged in the Master's service. It was no fault that she was busy preparing a feast for the Master. Happy Martha, to have the chance of entertaining so blessed a guest, and to throw her whole soul so heartily into it! Her fault was that she grew "cumbered with much serving," so that she forgot Him and remembered only the service. She let service override communion, and so offered up one duty stained with the blood of another. We ought to be Martha and Mary in one: to do much service and enjoy much communion at the same time. For this we need great grace, for it is easier to serve than to commune. Joshua never grew weary fighting the Amalekites, but Moses on the mountaintop in prayer needed two helpers to hold up his hands. The more spiritual the exercise, the sooner we tire in it; the choicest fruits are the hardest to grow, and the most heavenly graces the most difficult to cultivate. Beloved, while we do not neglect outward things, which are good enough in themselves, let us also see that we enjoy living, personal fellowship with Jesus. Take care that sitting at the Savior's feet is not neglected, even under the plausible excuse of doing Him service. The first thing for our soul's health, the first for His glory, and the first for our own usefulness, is to keep in perpetual communion with the Lord Jesus, and to see that the vital spirituality of our faith is maintained above everything else in the world.