One Thing
One thing? Just one? We might think several things are needful: obedience, truth, righteousness, forgiveness, love, hope. Yet Christ does not say there is only one thing needful, but that there is one thing needful. That is, this one thing encompasses all. If you have Christ, you have all else beside.
Like Martha, we "are troubled about many things". But are we troubled about the one thing still lacking in our souls, our homes, our congregation? In this world of voices and temptations, a thousand things cling and clutch us. Our world is like the deep pools found in India, where a certain grass grows so long that one slip means almost certain drowning. Only the greatest of help can free the man from that marshy grave that entangles him. Christ says in Matthew 19 that such entangled ones, "shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven". All the rescuing powers of grace are needed to deliver a soul from this world. From without, the billboards call, the media woo, the store fronts beckon, the theaters echo, the Internet whispers. And from within, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life ensnare. But we tell ourselves, we need a little play time, don't we? And all too often, give our hearts to the world. A little here, a little there. These things are very entangling. We cannot untangle ourselves; we must be disentangled by the Spirit. But we can sit as Mary did, and meditate, listen, and cherish the words of Christ.
One thing is needful. Truth! The longer the believing soul lives, the truer that phrase becomes. The closer we come to the grave, the more completely we will agree with it for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, our neighbor, our enemies. Health, title, honor, prosperity, may all be good in themselves, but none of them are needful. Millions in this world are happy without them because they have That One Thing. Do you?