"Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:42
“Choose something like a star” is a line from the poet Robert Frost. He encourages us to set our ideals high and to select our activities accordingly. A great loss occurs when people use their talents to gain only whatever glitters here below. The glamour soon vanishes, and what people consider a great gain often turns out to be fool’s gold.
A star stands for hope. This is especially true of the Christian faith. Christ Jesus is the promised Star who was to rise out of Jacob. He is, in the words of Saint John, “the bright Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16). The Wise Men saw His star in the East and in a very literal sense chose to follow it until it brought them to Christ, Himself the Star of hope.
Our Lord blesses all who by faith choose His Word as the polestar of their lives. In the town of Bethany He upheld Mary for regarding His teaching as the one thing needful, saying to busy Martha: “Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Mary believed—and so did Martha as she revealed at the tomb of Lazarus—that Jesus was the promised Messiah (see John 11:27). In Him is salvation, for by His atoning offering on the cross we have the forgiveness of sins. He is the Resurrection and the Life.
To this day the message goes out into the world and, in the words of Saint Peter, we “do well to pay attention to it [the prophetic Word], as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the Morning Star rises in [our] hearts” (2 Peter 1:19).
At a huge gathering of people at Shechem the aged Joshua in effect told the Israelites to choose the Star. “Throw away the foreign gods” (Joshua 24:23), he said. He told them not to worship the hosts of heaven—sun, moon, and stars—but to choose the true God, adding, “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). This is our resolve as well.
PRAYER: O Holy Spirit guide me as I make choices in life. Help me to grow closer to Christ. Amen.
(Devotions from "With Jesus Every Day" copyright 1997, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time emailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)
Today's Bible Readings: Isaiah 30-31 Romans 2
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