Maybe you know someone named Martha and maybe you don't. But you've probably seen a lot of people like the Martha you can read about in the Gospel of Luke in the Bible.

Have you ever known someone who rushed about doing good things but didn't always take time to do what was most important? Well, that's what this Martha was like—until Christ Jesus taught her an important lesson.

This happened when he came to visit the house where Martha lived with her sister Mary. This was in a town called Bethany, near Jerusalem. Jesus was good friends with Martha and Mary, and with their brother Lazarus. He loved them all very much. So when he stopped to visit, it must have been a special time.

Maybe that's why Martha made such a special effort to do things just right. She fluttered around, probably straightening up the house and preparing a lot of food for Jesus. In fact, she kept on busily serving the meal even while Jesus was talking. Mary sat quietly near him, listening closely to every word he said.

That bothered Martha. She went to Jesus and asked him to tell Mary to get busy and help out! Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her."

Now, of course, Jesus appreciated all the practical, kind things that people did for him—including his family and his disciples, and friends like Martha and Mary and Lazarus. But he never treated people as if they were his servants. He wanted most to help them—to help them love God and feel more of God's presence in their lives.

Bible stories about Jesus show that he helped men and women and children in just this way. In fact, he treated women with real respect and talked to them about important things, more than men usually did in those times.

For sure, he was talking with Mary about important things. But Martha was fussing about so much that she couldn't really listen to what Jesus was saying. Instead she wanted Mary to stop listening and start helping her! She was even upset with Jesus for not telling Mary to do this.

Because Jesus was truly a friend, he told Martha gently but with strong words that she was missing out on something very important. She was missing out on the truths that Jesus was getting from God to give them all.

Now, Martha served a good meal. This was a loving thing to do. But Jesus wanted Martha to understand that there is another kind of "food." It's what he was talking about when he said in the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." He didn't just mean God gives us bread to eat. He gives us good thoughts that show us what to do. He gives us joy and power and truths that can heal us.

These spiritual thoughts show us what life is really all about, and Mary must have wanted this kind of food more than any other kind.

There's another woman named Mary who cared about spiritual food. Maybe you've heard of Mary Baker Eddy. In her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures she calls spiritual food the bread that comes "down from heaven ... the great truth of spiritual being, healing the sick and casting out error." This truth says that we are really God's children, spiritual and unlimited, always free to love and serve God. This spiritual food is what we all need more than anything else because it can heal us.

Martha surely learned the lesson that Jesus taught her. Much later, when their dear brother Lazarus became sick, Martha and Mary sent for Jesus to come and help. By the time he arrived, Lazarus had died. But before Jesus got to Bethany, Martha went out to meet him. She must have learned how much they all needed the kind of love and help Jesus' words of Truth could bring, because she said if he had been there, Lazarus would still be alive. What did Jesus say to her then? Just what he said when Mary, too, came to meet him. Jesus said Lazarus would rise again. And this is exactly what happened.

When Jesus got to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead four days. But Jesus knew that God is really the life of each one of His children. No one can ever really die. So Jesus called to Lazarus, and he came out from the cave where he had been buried. Martha and Mary were right there to see it.

Martha learned a lot of lessons. She didn't need to learn how to be loving and caring. She already was that kind of person. But she did need to learn what's most important to love and care about. Not just doing daily chores or schoolwork or even a job well. Yes, we need to do those things. But what's most important is loving God and learning to listen for spiritual ideas.

Think about the best housekeeper or cook and the care and love she puts into her work. What would happen if she—or we—put this kind of thought into following what Jesus said and did? He said, for example, that the great commandments are to love God, and to love our neighbor as ourselves.

What if we really thought about this every day and worked at it? We would still do all the practical things we need to do. But we'd do them more peacefully, more unselfishly, because we would be putting God first in our thoughts and in our lives.

So we can learn the lesson Martha learned. We can have what Jesus told her is the most "needful" thing, something no one can take away. We can have the love of God in our hearts and be more ready to listen to His voice.