Martha Steward

Yeah, that's the right name. I'm still in the book of John and still reading about Lazarus. . . and Mary. . . and Martha. Martha Steward I have decided to call her, because she is the woman who gets things done! And like Thomas, she often gets the bad rap (is there any other kind--bahahahahaha) Anyway. . . .

Jesus comes to town to raise her brother from the dead (well she didn't know that yet) and when she hears he's made it, she heads out to meet him, while Mary stays at home. Martha finds Jesus, and speaks right up, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." There you go, just lay that down on the Son of God. It's all your fault, Jesus. No matter what tone you imagine it in--anger, indignation, overwhelming grief, --she lays the blame directly at the feet of Jesus. BUT. . . . .she goes on to say, (and this is another place where a big but is a good thing) she says, "BUT, I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."

Martha gets it!!! Obviously she's been thinking about more than just kneeding bread while she's been in the kitchen all those days. She KNOWS with her head and her heart that Jesus is God and that He can raise people from the dead. And that her brother could be one of them. She also seems to know that Jesus doesn't just do whatever we want. He does what is right and best and that we have to trust that. And she seems willing to do just that.

I see that our Martha Steward cooked up the recipe for great faith, and she is being a great steward of her faith. She is putting it into action by going to God knowing He can do what He says He can do. Look at what she's mixing up: She has a measure of ackowledgement of who God is, she has a pinch of transparency, and a load of boldness to approach the king of kings, blending through a personal relationship with him, and she is serving it up to Jesus right now.

I love that she knows that Jesus can do this, and yet when Jesus says, "Your brother will rise again." She says "I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day." See she understands living now and living forever. Hence the original Martha Steward Living!!!! She knew it wasn't about this life but the next. WORD!! Which means she obviously had some good Bible knowledge in her recipe as well (yeah I know they didn't have the Bible yet, but that's we call it in children's church.)

Then Jesus lays it out for her. These things she already knows. "Martha--I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live even though he dies. And if you are still alive when I return and you are a believer, then you will never die. Martha, do you believe that?"

" Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God who has come into the world."
Now your cookin with oil, Martha. And then she laces up her good steward shoes and high tails it back to her sister Mary to tell her that Jesus is here. Martha, heard, she believed, she acted on her faith and she received a great reward (well more than one actually). And in my book, or note, that makes her the original Martha Steward, and now maybe we can remember for something else besides that day she got a little cranky in the kitchen.