Christianity is not about you and your work. It is about Christ and his work.  The Apostle Paul seems to have felt it necessary to constantly re-orient his readers towards this fundamental truth.  For example, this is what he wrote to the Colossians: “I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God’s great mystery.” (This comes from the Message translation). I like the fact that Paul suggests that his Christian readers can have minds that are both confident and at rest.  This can be our condition, but only if our minds are focused on Christ, rather than on ourselves.  The greatest mistake of the church over the past two-thousand years has been to make people self-conscious rather than Christ-conscious. If we think that our relationship with God rests upon what we do (or don’t do) for him, we will never have either confidence or peace of mind.

An example of this important truth is found at the end of the tenth chapter of Luke’s gospel. Here we read that Jesus has entered into the house of Mary and Martha.  The only thing we read about Mary in this story is that she “sat at Jesus’ feet to hear his word”.  However, the text says that Martha was “distracted with much serving”.  Eventually Martha complained to Jesus. “My sister has left me to serve alone,” she said, “tell her to help me.”  Before addressing Martha’s complaint about Mary, Jesus makes an astute observation about Martha. “You are anxious and troubled about many things,” he says.

Before concluding the story, I would like to make my own observation. Here are two individuals, both in the presence of Jesus, but having opposite experiences. One is experiencing peace of mind while the other is distracted, anxious, and troubled.  Their differing experience cannot be blamed on God – he did not send trouble to Martha and choose peace for Mary.  The difference in their experience can be attributed to the way in which they regarded Jesus. Martha saw Jesus as someone for whom we must labor and work, while Mary viewed Jesus as someone with whom we have a relationship.  To put it another way, Martha’s attention was focused on herself and her work, while Mary’s attention was centered on Jesus. After observing that Martha is anxious and troubled about “many things”, Jesus says, “only one thing is necessary. This is what Mary has chosen, and it cannot be taken away from her.”  What is the “one thing that is necessary”?  It is not work or self-sacrifice.  It is not a holy life or perfect performance. It is simply to focus your attention on Christ and his work. Then, as Paul informs us, you will have “minds confident and at rest.”