My brother and I used to do this to each other all that time…  We would do something mischievous, get caught, and get a one on one lecture from one of our parents.  If we felt like the other deserved a lecture, in passing, we would say “Mom wants to talk to you.” And send them her way.  MOST of the time, my mom (or dad) wouldn’t have even requested the other offender, but we would want the other sit through the same speech that we just did.

In John 11, when Lazarus dies, Martha runs out to meet Jesus when he arrives. Mary, however, stays at home.  At the end of their exchange, Jesus asks Martha if she believes that whoever believes in Him will not die.  She confirms that she believes in Him and leaves to go find Mary.  She finds Mary and says “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” (vs 28).   Mary rose quickly and went to Him.  No where in their exchange does  it say that Jesus asked for Mary. Martha pulls the same sibling trick that my brother and I used to pull on each other.  She sends Mary to get her own lecture from Jesus.

Martha knew that Mary needed to get to Jesus.  Mary wouldn’t have gone on her own accord, but Martha knew what would get her there.

We all need people like Martha in our lives; people that push us to Jesus.  You know- those people who hear about your issues and their response is “Well, did you pray about it?” Or those that send you a link to a message just because they were “thinking of you”.  Ugh- The conviction is real, but it has helped me in my dark times.

We could all use an encouraging word- be someone’s push back to Jesus.

~Shiney