Opening Our Eyes to Jesus

Henry David Thoreau once said, “To be awake is to be alive,” a line that has stirred the hearts of readers for generations. In Walden, he writes with yearning for a deeper, slower, more contemplative life a life more in tune with nature, with self, and with meaning. He laments, “I have never yet met a man who was quite awake.” And perhaps he never would, because Thoreau, for all his brilliance, had never met the one Man who could awaken the soul: Jesus Christ.

Thoreau’s haunting observation echoes the modern human experience all too well. We race from one task to the next, eyes open but spirits dulled. We crave clarity and connection, but live distracted and divided. Beneath the hustle lies a quiet question: Am I truly alive?

The Wake-Up Call of Luke 10

In Luke 10:38–42, Scripture tells a story that answers that question in an unexpected way. Jesus visits a village where two sisters, Martha and Mary, receive him into their home. While Martha busies herself with preparations, Mary sits at Jesus’s feet, listening. Frustrated, Martha asks Jesus to correct her sister. But Jesus gently corrects Martha instead:

“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

The issue at hand is not personality but priority. Martha’s focus on serving even serving Jesus distracted her from Jesus himself. Mary, however, placed her attention squarely on him. In doing so, she discovered the “one thing” necessary: Jesus, the Life.

A recent Gallup study found that nearly 60% of U.S. adults report feeling stressed “frequently.” While the world clamors for productivity, Jesus offers something else entirely presence. His invitation is not to do more, but to be more awake to Him.

When Good Becomes the Enemy of Best

Martha’s error is deeply familiar: being pulled away from what’s best by what’s merely good. Her distractions weren’t sinful they were sensible. Hosting guests. Preparing meals. Cleaning the home. These are good things. But even good things can obscure the presence of Christ when they take the place of first things.

In her frantic striving, Martha becomes discontented. And like many of us, her frustration becomes contagious. Rather than stopping to sit at Jesus’s feet, she tries to pull Mary away from him. Her busyness becomes the standard by which she judges others. This is the danger of a distracted life it not only robs us of peace but multiplies our discontent into the lives of others.

According to a 2024 American Psychological Association report, digital distractions and overcommitment have been directly linked to increased anxiety and relational breakdown. Even in ministry, we can fall into the trap of prioritizing performance over presence. Like Martha, we end up working for Jesus without walking with Jesus.

The Undivided Heart

Jesus doesn’t rebuke Martha’s effort, but her attention. He wants her heart. And before he wants our work, he wants our gaze. Psalm 27:4 captures this perfectly: “One thing have I asked of the Lord… to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.” Mary understood this. She wasn’t lazy. She was fiercely focused on Christ.

She chose the “good portion” a phrase that echoes the Psalms, where God is described as the believer’s portion and inheritance (Psalm 16:5, Psalm 73:26). Mary’s act of sitting and listening was not passivity but worship. It was not escapism, but attentiveness. It was not avoidance of duty but alignment with destiny.

In a world that tells us to measure our worth by how much we do, Jesus calls us to remember who we are doing it for. He calls us not into more activity, but into deeper attention.

Fully Awake, Fully Alive

Are we awake to Jesus? Or are we merely awake to our calendars, our inboxes, our obligations? Too many of us live half-alive lives distracted, hurried, and weary. We feel like we’re missing something, but we can’t name what it is.

The answer isn’t a digital detox or a better planner. The answer is Jesus. He is the life that stirs the soul and the joy that grounds the heart. He is the portion that cannot be taken away, the presence that gives rest to the weary.

In John 10:10, Jesus declares, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” This is not a vague spiritual promise it is a present invitation. Each morning, He beckons you to sit, to listen, to abide. Not once a year on retreat, but daily. Not just in crisis, but in the mundane. He calls you not to escape the world, but to enter it fully awake and fully alive through Him.

So pause. Right now. Ask yourself: Have I sat at Jesus’s feet today? Have I given Him my attention not just my service, my prayer list, my problems, or my praise but my undivided attention?

If not, return. He is waiting. The portion is still available. The door to joy is still wide open.

Mary heard his voice and chose the good portion. She was awake. She was alive. Will you choose the same today?

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