They were both dear to the Lord Jesus, and they both loved Him, but they were different. The eye of the one saw His weariness, and would give to Him; the faith of the other apprehended His fullness, and would draw from Him.
Martha's service was acceptable to the Lord, and was acknowledged by Him, but He would not allow it to disturb Mary's communion. Mary knew His mind. She had deeper fellowship with Him. Her heart clung to Him. She sat at His feet, drinking in from the streams of grace and truth that flowed from His lips. Blessed it is to serve the Lord, but still more blessed to enjoy Him; and therefore the moment Martha would bring the outward services of the hand in competition, the Lord lets her know that Mary was refreshing Him with a richer feast than the abundance of her house could supply.
This lovely narrative illustrates a great principle. It is the glory and delight of God to give. What He wants is the empty, longing, and believing heart, as a sphere in which He can allow His goodness to overflow. What He wants is to bring us into the enjoyment of His own blessedness. The highest place is properly His. He is the giver; and from Him we are to receive. The place of blesser is His; the place of debtorship is ours, for "without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better" (Heb. 7:77And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. (Hebrews 7:7)).
Acceptable to the Lord as are the willing services of His people, nothing is more grateful to Him than that we should be continually receiving out of His treasury of grace. Nothing honors Him more than that we take our place of creature-dependence, and acknowledge His Godhead glory, allowing Him to be still giving, still blessing, still pouring forth on thankful recipients from the inexhaustible fountain of His own fullness.