November 14, 2008

Indulging in God: Correcting Eve's Error

Tonight I'm speaking at a local church on the topic Indulging in God. Have you ever noticed that Mary of Bethany is the antithesis to Eve in Eden? Eve had her wants and needs taken care of. She had food, beautiful surroundings, and she had all the wisdom anyone could want for with her dwelled God. But that wasn't enough and she bought into the lies of the Serpent, not in order to have more of what she had, but to replace it with something better. She'd be able to indulge all of her desires for physical pleasure, materialism, and great knowledge and wisdom.

Contrast that to Mary of Bethany who knew that everything she needed--and everything she wanted--was at the feet of Jesus. A woman who knew exactly what she wanted was everything that she needed. Without Christ, there was no real satisfaction in life, but she needed to know who he was, and that was accomplished by spending time with and learning from the Lord who was with her. Mary corrected Eve's mistake by knowing more about her Lord by studying him and with him. Another incident between Mary and Jesus shows her anointing his feet with oil--with her hair. This is a woman who not only learned who Jesus is, but aspired to live like him. She learned how she was different from Jesus (in her fallenness) but still sought to live the humble, sacrificial life.

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