Danger!

There are a number of dangers we face as Christians to our ongoing discipleship. One of them that Luke seems to stress is distraction.

It is there in chapter 8 as he tells the parable of the sower, in the third soil the seed doesn't bear any fruit because they get distracted by life's worries and pleasures, its there illustrated in the Stilling of the Storm as the disciples allow the waves and wind to distract them from who is in the boat with them. It comes up again in his call to discipleship - Jesus expects undistracted disciples who follow him as a priority.

And it is there in the story of Mary and Martha. Having just taught the expert in the law that loving God devotedly means loving humanity practically, Jesus surprisingly warns Martha of the danger of being distracted by serving. Martha isn't distracted by something bad but by something which is good, but the issue is she doesn't choose what is better, what is needful.

It poses the question am I serving God at the expense of my relationship with him? Or am I serving God as an outpouring of my relationship with him?