Contagious Faith

Contagious Faith

In one of the most beautiful stories in the Gospels—the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus—there is a truth we often overlook.  Faith is meant to be contagious.  Both Martha and Mary were followers of Jesus—Martha confessed, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ.”  And yet, her faith, obviously, did not appear to have the impact on others that her sister’s Mary’s faith did.  When Martha arose and left the house to go see Jesus, no one went with her.  No one.  When Mary rose and went to see Him—though they thought she was going to the tomb—everyone in the house got up and went with Mary.  Everyone.  It is not coincidental that the Spirit tells us that “Many therefore of the Jews, who had come to Mary and beheld what He had done, believed in Him.”  Mary had obviously been sharing what she believed about Jesus, and when they saw Him confirm what she had shared, they believed.  Her faith was contagious.

What made the difference?  Mary had a deep, personal relationship with Him.  She had chosen the “one necessary thing,” sitting at His feet and learning of Him.  She knew Him face-to-face.  And she reflected His beauty to others.  Her relationship with Him enabled her to form deep relationships with others.  When circumstances showed Him to be who Mary said He was, they believed in Him.  Martha who had chosen spiritual busyness as her priority, duty over knowing Him more deeply, was, as Jesus cautioned her, worried and distracted and bothered by so many things. 

We need a contagious faith.  We need to become more and more like Him.  And the only way for that to happen is to choose the one necessary thing—sitting at His feet, learning of Him, loving Him more deeply, and then reflecting His beauty for others to see—in word and in deed.  Mary lived a life that drew people to her, and she then, obviously told them that her beauty flowed from her relationship with Him.  She loved because He first loved her.  Are others attracted to His beauty as seen in you?  Or do people see in you a worried, distracted, bothered person wrapped up in the affairs of the world disguised as spirituality?  Be contagious.  To know Him is to love Him.  To love Him is to share His love with others.

And the motivation?  “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.”