What Are YOU Going To Do During “March Madness?”
Well, there’s really not much doubt that we are deep into March Madness. The state high school tournaments have consumed just about every weekend. The NCAA selections have been made and your brackets have all been filled out. The weather has been warming up so quickly that many are suffering from spring fever and can hardly wait to get outside for those annual rites of spring – the cleanup around the house, the planting of the garden, that first long drive of a new golfing season, the tune-up of the boat and putting in the dock for that much-awaited fishing opener. There’s just so much to do during the month of March! It’s a flurry of activities and distractions.
So what are you going to do during this busy time of chaos and confusion? My hope is that we won’t become so preoccupied and over-committed that we allow ourselves to be distracted away from the “one thing needed” like Martha was in Luke 10. We know that God’s Word is the “one thing needed” because that’s where we find our Savior, Jesus. Jesus once said to the Pharisees, “These are the Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39 NIV) We know God’s Word is the one thing needed because that is where God gives us saving faith in Jesus and His perfect sacrifice on the cross for our sins. It is also where He makes our faith grow through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul writes in Romans, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Roman 10:17) I think Martha knew that as well. Yet amazingly enough she passed up an opportunity to sit and spend time with the one thing needed, God’s Word in human flesh, Jesus, who happened to be sitting right there in front of her in her house. And why??? Because she was too busy to absorb His presence – too busy living life to quietly hear what Jesus had to say – too involved with all her activities and actions to find the time to really listen to her Savior.
The Greek word that the Bible uses to describe Martha – distracted – means “pulled or dragged from all around.” And that’s the challenge that each of us faces not only in March but throughout our hectic lives. We are “distracted” – pulled and dragged from all around by the things of life further and further away from the one thing needed. There are distractions from television, movies, and the media - distractions from work and school – distractions from family and friends. There are even “distractions” that can come from church and all the work involved there. How often aren’t we like Martha in Luke 10, so busy doing things for Jesus that we neglect to sit and spend time with Him – to listen to His Word and meditate on everything he has done for us? Just look at an average church activity calendar. How many of the activities in a given week or month are focused on sitting quietly at Jesus feet to learn verses doing some kind of project, or having a meeting, or holding a social gathering? It’s not that there isn’t a need or a place for all these things – just like there was a need to eat a meal when Jesus came to Martha’s house. The issue involves priorities and choices.
What are YOU going to be doing this month? Maybe you’ll be vegetating in front of your television set taking in all the action. Maybe you be running around everywhere being part of the action. But the one thing that would really be “madness” this March is if you became too busy to listen to Jesus – to worship Him in church – to learn from Him in Bible Classes or Sunday School – to let Him speak to you in your personal Bible study or your home devotions. There truly are a lot of distractions out there at this time of year. Don’t let them pull you away from the “One Thing Needed!”
