Sit or Serve?

It is a difficult concept for me to fully understand and yield to, and it presents itself in the form of a question. Perhaps you can relate. The question is this: Should I sit or should I serve?

At the risk of eliminating any suspense, the answer is yes. Yes to both. Yes and yes.

You should absolutely live a life of service. Jesus embodied this for you all the way to the cross and by way of the foot-washing basin (Jn. 13:1-17).

You should also live fully content to simply sit at the feet of Jesus. Psalm 27:4 describes this as a singular desire to “dwell in the house of the Lord” and to “gaze on [His] beauty.”

So how do you do both? How can you and I faithfully heed the call to both sit at the feet of Jesus and serve those He has called us to? Those are very much opposite postures in my mind—one is sedentary and stationary while the other is mobile and action-oriented. As a result, my human mind computes these two things as one or the other. Perhaps they are both good things, but I can only do one of them at a time.

This assumption is at first glance reenforced by the biblical story of Mary and Martha—a story that quite possibly came to your mind when you first read our headline question. In the familiar narrative, Mary chooses to sit at the feet of Jesus while Martha chooses to serve and prepare the house. When Martha confronts Mary, Jesus is clear that Mary’s choice is the better one: “‘Martha, Martha,’” the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her’” (Lk. 10:41-42).

Jesus validates Mary’s choice. Jesus was present, and there was no better way for Mary to spend her time than to simply sit at his feet.

It is also unequivocally true that every follower of Jesus was about to be called upon to serve in the most intense way imaginable. Jesus would be crucified and each of His followers would have a choice: Would they openly serve others by acknowledging an association with the crucified one? That service would come at a great personal cost, and many followers of Jesus would by martyred as a result of choosing service.

When considering the entire narrative, both of the following seemingly incongruent statements are in fact true:

“It is enough to sit at the feet of Jesus.”

“Sitting at the feet of Jesus will lead you to ultimate acts of service.”

My friend, you don’t have to fret or stress or worry about “doing enough” for Jesus. He invites you to simply sit in His presence. He desires your trust and your yielding to the truth that He and He alone is enough. You don’t have to add anything to who He is to be prepared for what is to come.

In this way, sitting is the far better choice.

But don’t be deceived into believing that sitting at His feet occurs to the exclusion of serving with Him. Far from it! If you are content to simply linger in the presence of Jesus, you will find yourself also in the presence of the needy, and in possession of a proverbial foot-washing basin, and ultimately carrying your own cross (Matt. 16:24-26).

When you sit with Jesus, He will also invite you to serve with Him.

On the surface, this may be intimidating. But in reality, it is intensely beautiful and immensely reassuring.

You don’t have to scramble to prepare. You can be fully content to sit at His feet. In fact, it should be your one desire. 

As you sit, you will know more of His heart and His being. You will be drawn into His character, and you will naturally participate in His actions. To put it simply, by sitting with Him you will also serve with Him.

It is not of your doing, but His.

Should you sit? Yes. You should be fully content to sit at His feet all the days of your life.

Should you serve? Yes. As you sit at His feet, you will find yourself serving with Him. It is a wonder beyond your finite mind, as sitting and serving are not opposites but rather wholly intertwined. They are yes and yes.

The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.