Freedom Fridays

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Welcome to Freedom Fridays with Jennifer. Do you know Martha? Oh, please, grab your coffee and your strand of faith and come meet her…you may feel as though you’re looking in a mirror :-)

Martha, Martha, Martha

All my life I have been a Martha, running to and fro, focused on mine and my Father’s business.  I have always thought it was a good thing to not have idle hands.  Every time I read Luke 10:38-40, the story of Martha and Mary, I feel convicted of my busyness. This year as I read this passage I saw something else through my new found freedom filters.

This is what I discovered:

“As they continued their travel, Jesus entered a village. A woman by the name of Martha welcomed him and made Him feel quite at home. She had a sister, Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word He said. But Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen. Later, she stepped in, interrupting them. ‘Master, don’t you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to lend me a hand.’

At this point I say to myself “You go ,Girl! Stick up for yourself!”

In verses 41-42 Jesus responds, “Martha, dear Martha, you’re fussing far too much and getting yourself worked up over nothing. One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it—it’s the main course, and won’t be taken from her.”

Hmmm…. My un-free self would have been…”Really, Lord?  Don’t you see what I am trying to do?  It’s not fair!”  I would have picked up my stuff and started walking down a path of bitterness.  This would have become a huge stumbling block for me and kept me from experiencing relationship with our Savior. 

My free self saw it differently.

How many times have I picked up an offense when there was none there to take?  I would have searched my heart to forgive the reprimand or forgive my sister for not helping out.  In reality there was nothing to forgive, no wrong had been done.  Mary had chosen a path to follow God; yes it affected Martha but it wasn’t a sin required to forgive. Jesus was perfect, free from sin…He just spoke the truth. 

We don’t need to forgive someone for not hiring us, seeking counsel with us or even following their own God path, even if it has caused us a loss of some sort, for example, a friend moving away or changing churches.  When we are hurt it often feels like it is personal and it creates a sore spot in the heart.  The truth can hurt but we don’t have to forgive the truth-giver; instead we can choose to learn from it. 

I have someone in my life that makes bad choices.  Some of those choices have been a sin against me and I am working through forgiveness.  Freedom for me was when I released the bitterness for all of the actions this person takes.  I can’t control the situation but I can choose not to be up in arms over every little thing.  True freedom comes from allowing God to be able to work on others and trust Him in the process.  We need to know that we don’t know the whole picture of what God is working out in others.  

Can you think of a time when you were angry with someone but later realized it was for your own good?  I can…a whole bunch of times.  I’m not saying that my situation is good but I am allowing God to work with me and through me for the freedom of someone else.  It’s not always easy but every morning I wake up with more freedom than I did the day before. 

Give it a try…..is there something you can let go of that you were holding on to that wasn’t something that needed forgiven?

Walking in freedom towards perfect freedom,

Jennifer