July 24

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She (Martha) said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.’ John 11:27

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🔊 Martha was the first woman to confess that Jesus was the Christ, just as Peter was the first man. Martha was a practical person, not one who loved to be quiet and sit for hours in prayer. The Bible here wonderfully teaches that, for true spiritual health, we need to be both prayerful and incredibly practical. When Lazarus died, Mary had a deeper crisis than Martha did. Mary had developed a sense of Jesus’ personal love and commitment to her, but she had not developed the practical ‘get up and go’ that is needed when events baffle and disappoint us. Martha got up as soon as Jesus came, and went to meet Him, to welcome Him back. It was Martha who first welcomed Jesus into her home – Luke 10:38. It was Martha who served Him dinner (and it was probably a very special meal)! It was probably Martha who had prepared Lazarus for burial, and it was Martha who pointed out to Jesus that Lazarus wouldn’t smell very nice! Our spiritual life needs to be rooted in a deep devotion to Him and, at the same time, a healthy practical attitude of getting on with life until God intervenes. If we lack the spiritual side of life, we will be efficient and organised but dry and uninspired. If we lack the practical side, we may be morbid and introspective when God is silent or when things seem to go wrong. Worship, wait on God, then get up and go and meet Jesus in the ordinary things of life. He will appear when He is ready, and will do more than we expected.