That’s the dominant question when people are coming to eat. Over the years Mary & I have had the pleasure of preparing & serving food for people at the lake & in our home. It always starts with 2 questions, “What are we having?” & “What time do we plan to eat?” At the center of both questions is “time.”

Serving a meal involves 2 rooms, the front room where people meet & enjoy the moment and the backroom where the meal is prepared. Both are significant. Both require thought, preparation, and time.

Let’s start with the backroom, the kitchen. If we are at the lake, I usually cook in our outside kitchen equipped with smokers, grills, fryers, and a flat-top griddle. Each one cooks very differently. Normally I will brine, marinate, or inject the meat the day before. Smoking usually requires 3 to 4 hours but sometimes 6+ hours. Knowing this is significant because all cooks want to serve their hot foods hot and their cold food cold…on time!

Meanwhile in the front room, guests are welcomed, introduced, and connected. The host’s purpose is to connect the people in a relationship with each other. Some people connect easily, while others require more time and care. We use the food as an excuse to get people through the door but it’s always about the fellowship and the time to be together.

One of my favorite Bible stories is what happened between Mary, Martha & Jesus when it was time to eat. Let’s set the stage. Let’s imagine we are Martha. We have been planning & preparing for this meal for a while. We want it to be special.

We are doing everything we can, by ourselves, trying to serve everything at one time when the flavors peak, with the hot things hot, and the cold things cold, while in the next room there is laughter and good times, then you hear someone say, “Hey, when Is dinner going to be ready?” Bam! “That’s it…I can’t do this by myself.”

We find our text in Luke 10:38, “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” 41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Who do you identify with, Martha or Mary? We all see life in one of these two ways. We see our situation from Martha’s kitchen or Mary’s living room. It’s not right or wrong, it’s the way we are designed from birth. Mary, my wife, is a natural Martha, while my default is to Mary. What we have learned is versatility and keeping our eyes on the main thing. The memory of special times together.

“A memory of special times together” is exactly what Jesus seeks with us. It’s setting aside time just for Him. It’s time in prayer (conversation) and reading & pondering His Love Letter (the Bible). If you are a Martha you might say, “I don’t have time.” But you do. We all get the same 24-hour day. We have the privilege & responsibility to choose what we do with our 24. If you are a Mary, you might respond with, “I’ll do that later.” Or “I need to catch up with my friends & family, then I will….” It all boils down to being intentional with of time…with making Him first in our life. Jesus made it easy for us to understand, “An expert in the law, tested Him (Jesus) with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:35-40.

The question is, what is most important to you?