Sitting At His Feet

One of the greatest themes / concepts / realities in the Word is that of sitting before the eyes of the ultimate master and just that. This goes against how we're conditioned to believe about what it means to be fruitful. The travesty is that business is hailed as the better thing. It's looked upon as a goal, when actually it's one of the many things that pulls us away from the better thing...from the thing that opens our eyes to the "more", to deeper reality, to our own identity and so on.  Along my personal journey I've had seasons of sitting at the feet of Jesus and others where I've allowed lower thinking to take over and become the higher ground. But ohhhhhhhhhh do I notice the difference after a while. It's not pretty! (I'm talking about when I sit at the feet of human standards or anything else.)  But when I return to gazing in His eyes, the eyes that know every answer and shines brighter than all those other things, even the very shame I feel from having wandered is melted away.  - LUKE 10:38 - 42 - AS THEY CONTINUED ON THEIR WAY, THEY ARRIVED AT A COUNTRY VILLAGE WHERE A WOMAN WITH THE NAME OF MARTHA RECEIVED THEM AS GUESTS IN HER HOUSE. SHE ALSO HAD A SISTER, MIRIAM (MARY) WHO BECAME GLUED TO JESUS' FEET, LISTENING TO HIS WORD. ALL THIS TIME, MARTHA HOWEVER, WAS DISTRACTED BY MUCH SERVICING; SHE BECAME ANNOYED AND WALKED UP TO WHERE THEY WERE SITTING AND BURST IN ON THEIR CONVERSATION, SAYING, "LORD, DO YOU NOT CARE THAT MY SISTER LEFT ME ALL THIS TIME TO DO ALL THE WORK? TELL HER, THEN, TO COME HELP ME!"  JESUS ANSWERED HER, "MARTHA, MARTHA! YOU ARE OCCUPIED WITH ANXIOUS AND TROUBLED THOUGHTS ABOUT MANY THINGS! THOSE MANY THINGS THAT CLUTTER YOUR MIND ARE ALL VER BRIEF AND OF LITTLE IMPORTANCE COMPARED TO THE ONE THING THAT OUTWEIGHS THEM ALL. THIS ONE THING DESERVES YOUR UNDIVIDED ATTENTION. MARY HAS SOURCED HER PERMANENT PORTION IN THIS BEAUTIFUL CONVERSATION." This scripture really gets to me. It convicts me deeply. I see how easily we become like Martha. It's usually with great intentions even. But eventually we miss out on the river of life and peace that is flowing from He Who IS the Prince of Peace.  Even He is wanting us to settle down and receive the life-flow that is coming from Him.   Why would we sit at the feet of business that only produces more business?  Why would we sit at the feet of gossipers and take that in?  Why would we sit at the feet of youtube videos filled with theories, (most of which are specifically designed to distract us from the direct gaze into His face, where truth is.)? Why would we sit before worry, fear, anger, division and the continuous buffet of things that are lesser than, which is offered to us all the time?  As I write this, I, Todd Benjamin Lout, am confessing that I need a recharge and I know it can only come from calming down and allowing His gaze to become the thing that I'm looking at again. Otherwise I may collapse trying to stand on such unstable ground that is away from that spot on the floor, right in front of the one I get to imitate.  I won't be able to imitate Him if I'm not looking at Him.  "We become what we behold." I don't know who first said that, but they are so so right!   Below is a link to a song I've always loved called, "No Higher Calling", that says, "Down at Your feet, Oh Lord, is the most high place......"

"No Higher Calling"