Just Jesus: Finding Peace in a Divided World
By George Bedlion - Pastor at Garden City in Tacoma
Ever feel like your heart has been chipped away piece by piece until you are not even sure what is left to give? I know I have. Life’s storms big and small have a way of pulling us in every direction leaving us distracted worried and divided. But here is the good news: Jesus steps into that mess with us not to shame us but to call us back to something simpler something whole. That is what hit me recently as I was reflecting on a familiar story in Luke 10, the one about Martha, Mary, and a family dynamic we can all relate to.
Picture this: Jesus is out there doing incredible things, healing, bringing justice, preaching about God’s Kingdom in a way that turns everything upside down. Crowds are following, lives are changing, and then He stops at Martha’s house. She welcomes Him in rolling out the ancient art of hospitality. But while she is hustling, prepping the meal, setting the table, making sure everything is just right, her sister Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet soaking in His words. Martha is fuming. "Lord, don’t you care?" she says practically stomping over. "My sister has left me to do all the work. Tell her to help!"
I love Martha’s boldness. She is so sure Jesus will back her up. After all she is serving right? Sounds a lot like me sometimes rushing around assuming Jesus is cheering for my agenda. But His response stops her and me in our tracks: "Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken from her."
Ouch. And wow. Jesus does not scold her. He gently points her back to what matters. Martha’s heart was divided, torn between good things and the best thing. I think we are living in a Martha age aren’t we? So much pulls at us, money, family, work, the chaos of the world. These are not bad concerns. They are real. But when we let them chip away at our hearts we end up distracted, controlling, reacting instead of reflecting.
Mary though? She sat. She listened. She chose the "one thing", undivided attention on Jesus. That is where wholeness starts. Not in doing more but in being with Him first. I have had my own Martha moments, like this past Christmas when my wife Sarah and I hosted our big family gathering. She was a hurricane of organizing while I was stuck on step one burning my hand in the kitchen, arguing over trash duty, then sneaking off for a coffee break. She loomed over me, rightfully so, and I realized: family dynamics are real and so is my tendency to miss the point.
Jesus invites us out of that scramble. He is the lens that shows us what God looks like, where God is at work, and how we can join in. Not by rushing to fix everything but by sitting at His feet first, men and women together, learning His way of love, forgiveness, and self-giving. At Garden City we are starting a series called "Just Jesus" because we believe He is the center we need in these wild times. Not a slogan but a lifeline.
So here is my hope for us: before we react to the storms let us reflect and return to Jesus. Let us pray with open hands asking Him to take our chipped hearts and make them whole. Because when we are found in His peace the heaviness lifts, the burden lightens, and we can love like He does, fully, freely, together.
Will you join me in that? Let us sit, listen, and let Jesus lead us back to one thing, Him.
With love,
George