Most of us make new year resolutions, yet fail to achieve them. The reason is this – we overestimate the power of our will and underestimate the principle of the system. For us followers of Christ, this system is regularly participating in what God has in place for us. Because goal does not guarantee success, but the process or the build up towards the goal does.

According to Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, “Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least”. Therefore we are urged to focus on the one thing that matters. The “one thing” is in fact all over the Bible. For David, there is one thing that he asked of the Lord (Ps 27:4). For Paul, there is one thing he did (Phil 3:13-14). For Mary of Bethany, only one thing is necessary (Lk 10:38-42). What is common about their one thing is all about intimacy with God. In Jeremiah 9:23-24 it says, ²³Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches, ²⁴but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things,” declares the Lord. God wants us to know Him, to understand Him. Why is this important? Because how much we know the Lord and how intimate we are with Him impacts everything that we do. Once you know the Lord, your life will never be the same. St. Augustine once said “To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances; To seek Him, the greatest adventure; To find Him, the greatest human achievement.”

What is your ONE THING? Let us learn from Mary of Bethany, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead. Jesus loved their family and frequented their home. In one of Jesus’ visits, Mary was seated at the feet of Jesus, where she showed 4 characteristics:

1. Mary’s sister Martha was the opposite of Mary in this instance. Martha was so busy with the preparations and lacked focus. She was distracted serving, just like some of us who love the Lord but get too busy serving Him to the point that we neglect His presence. Mary, on the other hand, was seated at the feet of Jesus together with the rest of the disciples. Her eyes were fixed on Him. If we are not focused on Jesus, we will be worried and bothered like Martha. Paul encourages us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith”. The by-product of fixing our eyes in Him is peace that surpasses all comprehension.
2. When we sit at His feet, we let Jesus serve us by listening to His Word. Mary let Jesus minister to Him. Andy Murray said “Prayer is not monologue, but dialogue; God’s voice is its most essential part. Listening to God’s voice is the secret assurance that He will listen to mine.” True prayer is not talking to God, but listening to Him. God speaks to us in various ways. The question is – are we listening?
3. Just like Mary, God wants us to have a personal intimate relationship with Him, more than what we do for Him. So let us pursue intimacy with God by spending quality time to sit at His feet in order to learn from Him and know His will for us.
4. “I can safely say that the authority of all that is revealed in the Word of God that any man or woman in this earth who is bored and turned off by worship is not ready for heaven” – A.w. Tozer

What is your attitude toward worship, toward spending time with the Lord? A true Christian is a follower of Jesus. Has Jesus become so real in your life that you desire to follow Him? And by following him, you desire to worship Him.

Regularly setting aside time to sit at the feet of Jesus, even just for 10 to 15 minutes a day, will have a long-term impact in your life. Mary of Bethany did just that, she was consistent. In John 12: 1-8, she once again sat at the feet of Jesus, this time, pouring and anointing Jesus with expensive perfume. She even used her hair to wipe the perfume from Jesus’ feet. We learn from Mary’s actions that when we worship God, we don’t mind what others would say. We lose self-consciousness. The antidote for self-centeredness is worship.

Your one thing in life will sooner or later impact your future, your destiny. For Judas, his one thing is money. He loved money more than Jesus. And if like Judas, you allow sin in your life because you do not regularly sit at the feet of Jesus, it will eventually blind you. For Mary of Bethany, her one thing is Jesus who acknowledged that “she has done a good deed for me”. Sitting at the feet of Jesus is something we need to learn. It brings blessing to you and the Lord.

Some of us may be like Judas, who knew Jesus but did not love Him. In the end, he betrayed Jesus. Some of us may be like Martha, who knew Jesus but got so busy that she neglected Jesus. Let us all be like Mary instead, whose one thing was sitting at the feet of Jesus. In the end, Jesus’ prophetic promise to Mary came true that “wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be spoken of in memory of her” (Mark 14:9)