Many Things. One Thing.

Introduction

When I was your age, everybody kept asking the same question: "What are you going to do with your life?" What nobody asked was: "Who are you becoming?"

Over the next few days you'll hear about majors, careers, opportunities, organizations, teams, ministries, leadership positions, internships, and goals. You're standing at the beginning of a season filled with possibilities. And that's exciting. But it's also dangerous. Because one of the greatest threats to your spiritual life is not that you'll choose the wrong things. It's that you'll choose too many things.

You'll have classes to pass. Friendships to build. Activities to join. Places to serve. People to impress. Before long, your calendar can become full while your soul becomes empty. You can be surrounded by Christian activity and starving for Christian intimacy. You can attend chapel, join a Bible study, serve on a ministry team, volunteer at a church, and still neglect the most important part of following Jesus: being with Jesus.

That's exactly the tension we find in Luke 10.

There are two sisters. One is busy for Jesus. One is with Jesus. And Jesus says only one of them has chosen what is necessary.

Let’s look at Luke 10:38–42 “38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. 40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” 41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, 42 but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.””

Let’s pray.

1. Distracted by the Many

"But Martha was distracted with much serving..." The key word is distracted. Notice what Jesus does not say. He doesn't say Martha was lazy. He doesn't say Martha was rebellious. He doesn't say Martha was worldly. Martha is serving Jesus. She's doing something good. In fact, that's what makes this passage so dangerous. Because most of us know bad things can pull us away from Jesus. What we often forget is that good things can too.

The Danger Wasn't the Serving

Martha wasn't distracted by sin. She was distracted by service. She's preparing. Hosting. Working. Taking care of details. She's doing all the things people would probably praise. And while everybody else was likely impressed with Martha, Jesus was concerned for Martha. Because activity around Jesus had replaced attentiveness to Jesus.

Illustration

Imagine inviting your favorite person in the world over for dinner. They finally arrive. But instead of spending time with them, you're in the kitchen the entire evening. Cooking. Cleaning. Preparing. Refilling drinks. You spend the whole night doing things for them but never actually enjoying them. That's Martha. Jesus is in the house, but she's missing the moment.

The Escalation of "Many"

Look at Jesus' words: "You are anxious and troubled about many things."

The issue isn't just busyness. It's what busyness has done to her soul. Now she's anxious. Now she's frustrated. Now she's comparing herself. Now she's irritated with her sister. Now she's even questioning Jesus. Notice how distracted people begin to unravel. Martha starts with serving and she ends up accusing.: "Lord, do you not care?" That's quite a jump.

Student Application

Some of you are going to arrive at that exact place this semester. Not because you're running from God. Because you're running everywhere else. Classes. Sports. Practices. Jobs. Friends. Social events. Ministry opportunities. Leadership opportunities. And every one of them might be a good thing. But eventually the many things begin competing for your attention. You wake up checking notifications. You fall asleep exhausted. You rush from obligation to obligation. And somewhere in the process your walk with Christ becomes another item on the checklist. The many things never announce themselves as enemies. They arrive disguised as opportunities.

One of the great lies of college is this: "The more involved I am, the more successful I am." But Jesus never measured discipleship by involvement. He measured it by devotion. You can be involved in everything and intimate with nothing. You can be known by everybody and known deeply by nobody. You can be busy for Jesus and slowly drift from Jesus.

Transition

And that's exactly why this story turns so sharply. Because while Martha is distracted by the many, Mary has discovered something better. Not another thing. The one thing, which leads to Jesus' startling statement: "One thing is necessary..."

2. Devoted to the One

"And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching." "Mary has chosen the good portion..."

The contrast couldn't be sharper. Martha is moving. Mary is sitting. Martha is speaking. Mary is listening. Martha is occupied with many things. Mary is occupied with one thing. And Jesus says Mary chose wisely.

What Was Mary Actually Doing?

Sometimes we read this story and think Jesus is praising inactivity. He's not. Jesus isn't commending laziness. He's commending discipleship. Look at the picture Luke gives us: "Mary sat at the Lord's feet." That's the posture of a student. A learner. A disciple. She isn't just near Jesus. She's focused on Jesus. She's receiving from Jesus. She's giving Him her undivided attention.

The One Thing

Then Jesus says something extraordinary: "One thing is necessary." Not one thing is helpful. Not one thing is preferable. Not one thing is recommended. Necessary. Essential. Non-negotiable. Everything else in your life may be important. This one thing is necessary.

Freshman Application

You're going to spend four years being asked a lot of questions. I’ve asked some of you these this weekend. What's your major? What career do you want? What are your goals? What organizations are you joining? What leadership positions are you pursuing? All important questions. But before any of those questions comes a more important question:

Are you sitting at the feet of Jesus?

Because before God calls you to a career, He calls you to Himself. Before He calls you to ministry, He calls you to Himself. Before He calls you to leadership, He calls you to Himself. Before Jesus wants something from you, He wants you with Him.

The Difference Between Knowing About Jesus and Knowing Jesus

One of the dangers at a Christian university is that you can learn a lot about Jesus. Bible classes. Chapel messages. Theology discussions. Ministry experiences. And all of those are wonderful gifts. But there is a difference between knowing facts about Christ and walking with Christ. There is a difference between studying Jesus and sitting at His feet.

Nobody gets married because they completed enough research. Nobody says, "I've read twelve books about her, listened to five podcasts, and attended three seminars. Therefore I know her." Relationships are built through presence. Time. Attention. Conversation. The same is true with Christ.

Go Deep, Not Wide

This is where I want to challenge you. The temptation for the next four years will be to go wide. More experiences. More commitments. More opportunities. More connections. More everything.

But spiritual maturity is rarely built by going wide. It's built by going deep. Deep in God's Word. Deep in prayer. Deep in a local church. Deep in a few meaningful Christian friendships. The deepest Christians are not usually the busiest Christians. They're the ones who have learned to stay close to Jesus.

Mary didn't choose the easy thing. She chose the better thing. And there's a difference. Sometimes the better thing means saying no to good things. Sometimes devotion requires limits. Because every yes carries a thousand hidden no's. If you say yes to everything, eventually you'll say no to what matters most.

Transition

And here's the beautiful promise of the text: Mary didn't just choose the better thing. She chose the lasting thing. Which leads to Jesus' final statement: "It will not be taken away from her."

3. Changed by What Can’t Be Taken

"Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." This is where Jesus lands. Not on Martha's activity. Not on Mary's posture. But on permanence. What Mary chose would last.

The Many Things Don't Last

I want you to think about all the things you're bringing with you to college. Some of you were valedictorians. Some of you were athletes. Some of you were student leaders. Some of you were the smartest person in the room. Some of you were the most talented musician in your church. And every one of those things can be lost. Grades fade.\ Awards collect dust. Positions are handed to someone else. Records get broken. Influence comes and goes. Four years from now nobody is going to care who won the intramural championship in 2026. The many things don't last.

But Jesus Says There Is Something That Does

Mary chose something that death can't touch. Time can't erode. Failure can't destroy. Graduation can't end. She chose Christ. She chose fellowship with Christ. She chose communion with Christ. She chose the one thing that remains when everything else is gone.

Punch It

Freshmen, listen carefully: You can lose your scholarship. You can lose a starting position. You can lose a relationship. You can lose a major. You can lose a job. You can lose a dream.

But if you have Christ, you have not lost what matters most. And if you gain everything else but neglect Christ, you've lost more than you realize.

The Great College Question

The question isn't: "Will you stay busy?" You will. The question isn't: "Will you have opportunities?" You will. The question is: At the end of four years, who will you be?

Because HLGU can help you earn a degree. Only Jesus can transform a soul.

My fear for some of you isn't that you'll leave HLGU. My fear is that you'll graduate from HLGU. You'll walk across this stage. You'll get the diploma. Take the pictures. Start the career. And discover that somewhere along the way you traded intimacy with Christ for accomplishment. You knew about Jesus. You served Jesus. You sang about Jesus. You attended chapel. But you never learned to sit at His feet.

Don't arrive at graduation with a full transcript and career-ready resume and an empty heart.

Final Challenge

A few days from now you'll start building your routine. Choose your friends carefully. Choose your commitments carefully. But above all, choose Jesus daily. Because every day for the next four years you'll face Martha's choice: The many? Or the One?

When you leave HLGU, my prayer is not that people would say: "He was involved in everything." "She was incredibly successful." "He was always busy."

My prayer is that people would say: "There was something different about them. They walked with Jesus."

Because the deepest people are not the busiest people. The deepest people are the people who have learned to sit at the feet of Christ.

And when the four years are over, you'll discover what Mary discovered: The one thing is better than the many things. And the one thing can never be taken away.

At this point, some of us may be feeling like Martha. Anxious. Distracted. Overloaded. And maybe even a little guilty.

Because if we're honest, we know what it's like to choose the many things over the one thing. The good news of Christianity is not that God loves Mary and rejects Martha. The good news is that Jesus came for Marthas. Jesus came for distracted people. Jesus came for people whose priorities are disordered and whose hearts wander. In fact, think about what Jesus is doing in this story.

He's not condemning Martha. He's inviting her. "Martha, Martha..." It's tender. Compassionate. Loving. He's calling her back to Himself. And that's exactly what the gospel is. The gospel is not ultimately an invitation to do more for Jesus. It's an invitation to come to Jesus. The same Jesus who said, "One thing is necessary," would eventually go to a cross because none of us have made Him the one thing.

We've all chosen lesser things. We've all been distracted. We've all loved gifts more than the Giver. And yet Christ lived the life we failed to live, died the death we deserved to die, and rose again so that distracted sinners could be brought near to God. The message of Christianity is not: "Do better." The message of Christianity is: "Come closer."

Let’s pray and dedicate this year to going deeper with Jesus.