Mary of Bethany and the Better Portion Part 5: At His Feet

Image Credit: Jesus Feet by PeteWill / Getty Images Signature, via Canva.

    When Jesus said that Mary had chosen the good portion, He was not referring to a fleeting preference or a polite spiritual insight. He was naming something secure—a portion that would last. He said that it would not be taken from her (Lk 10:42). And those words were not bound to that moment alone.

    Mary appears only a few times in Scripture, but in every scene, she places herself at the Lord’s feet. She sits quietly in Luke 10 while others are occupied. She kneels in sorrow in John 11 when her brother had died. She bends low again in John 12 to anoint Him with the oil she had prepared. She does not demand anything. She does not need the spotlight. But she returns again and again to the same place. That is not incidental. It is the mark of a soul that has recognized who Christ is.

    To sit at someone’s feet in their time meant more than stillness. It reflected submission. It expressed recognition of authority. Mary was not trying to earn her place. She had chosen to be near. And Christ honored that. He called it good. He said it would remain.

    This final word from Jesus in Luke 10 becomes a fitting conclusion for everything we have seen in her life. When Mary listened, she did not interrupt. When she grieved, she came. When she gave, she did not explain. She entrusted herself to the One she had come to know. She did not ask what was expected. She simply drew near.

    That same portion remains open to us. It may not be praised by many. It may be misunderstood. It may appear simple or small. But it will not be taken away. Christ still receives the devotion that begins at His feet. He still welcomes those who come to Him, not to impress, but to believe.

    Mary teaches us that worship is not found in one act. It is formed by a direction—a consistent placing of oneself near the Lord, whether in listening, sorrow, or offering. That is the better portion. And the Lord who named it will never remove it from those who choose it.