Have you ever said, “I need that!” but you didn’t need it at all? In our modern, crazy world, we’re bombarded with messages telling us that we need things. When we get the things, life will be better. We’re convinced that more is more, and we have a profound fear of missing out. There’s also a forceful drive to compete with others for the best life and the best stuff. We reach and grasp and stretch for this “better life.”

Today’s Good Word reminds us that only one thing is needful. Jesus said it, so it must be true.

Jesus said it to Martha. Remember the story? Jesus came to her home, and she was busy being hospitable. Her sister, Mary, sat at Jesus’s feet, soaking up His words and His presence. Martha got mad at Mary for leaving her to serve alone, and she asked Jesus for a little justice. Instead of affirming Martha, Jesus gently reproved her. He said that Mary had chosen the one thing that’s needful — the one thing above all things that leads us to that life we want.

What is the one thing? Time with Jesus. The words of Jesus. The presence of Jesus.

Jesus said that one thing is needful. Not a hundred things or even ten things. One thing. It’s that simple. When we strip away all those other things we think we need, we realize that attaining that “better life” isn’t all that complicated (or cluttered).

If we’re honest, then we’ll admit that we often choose everything except the one thing that’s needful, searching for some vague sense of joy or fulfillment or purpose in temporal things. Only Jesus can fill that void in our lives, and the more often we choose Him, the more we realize that we have all we need.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.