* The following is a partial transcript from today’s episode of The Royal Family Podcast, produced by The Light Network. To listen to the podcast, please visit The Light Network’s website. *
If there’s anything the Royals know about, it’s being busy. Take their summer schedule, for instance. The warm summer months began with the whirlwind that was Princess Charlotte’s birth and the subsequent moving of the family to Amner Hall. After that, Prince William started his new job as a rescue pilot, and Kate planned the littlest Princess’s christening and Prince George’s 2nd birthday party! Harry was in Africa the majority of the time, but also managed to nail down the location of next year’s Invictus Games. Most of the Royal Family also attended at least one match at Wimbledon, while the Queen visited the concentration camp where Anne Frank died. And really…that’s just a glimpse into what the summer held for the Windsor family.
I’m sure your summer was equally as busy, right? Ha! But really, we all know that there are a lot of things trying to pull us in so many different directions. This isn’t a new problem for members of God’s royal family, either.
When we think back to Jesus’ ministry, we see him with a family on multiple occasions. There were two sisters, Mary and Martha, and a brother, Lazarus. There are many accounts of Jesus’s dealings with this family during His earthly life. One of the most famous accounts comes from Luke 10, when Jesus goes into Mary and Martha’s home, but has to rebuke one of the sisters.
Luke 10:38-42 reads,
“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
Notice that there was a lot to be done. Martha was having a group into her home, and wanted to prepare food. Her sister, Mary, isn’t offering to help, but is instead sitting and listening. Frustrated, Martha goes to Jesus to have him rebuke Mary, but the rebuke actually comes back on her. Jesus says she is distracted, the busyness of life taking her away from what was truly important – listening to Jesus’ words and feeding on the bread of life.
In our day to day lives as Christians, there are going to be a lot of things pulling us in many different directions. There are responsibilities and roles within our homes to fulfill. There are obligations with our jobs and families. But do we make those things the priority? Or do we put all things under our obligation to serving Christ above all? Matthew 6:33 says that disciples of Jesus are to seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else comes afterward. Yes, our families are important. Yes, our jobs are important. Yes, our friends are important. Yes, running errands and buying groceries and cleaning house are…necessary. But they are also secondary. Serving Jesus, learning from His words, worshiping our Father, and talking to Him regularly, those are the truly necessary, most important things. Those are the priority-one things. Everything else can wait.
If you find yourself distracted – even distracted by good things like being hospitable – take a few moments to stop and shift gears. Make an honest, concerted effort to put God back on the throne in your life. Work everything else in your schedule around Him, don’t try to work Him into an already full schedule. He is the God of the universe -the great I AM – He deserves (and expects) our first-fruits, not our leftovers.
