The Good Part That Lasts

The Lord Is My Portion

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Jesus said that “Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). A part is a share of something good.

Shares of land. When God brought Israel into the Promised Land, each tribe received its own share of land for farms and towns. Families would live on their share for many years.

No share for the priests. But the priests and Levites, who served at God's house, did not get a share of land like the other tribes. God told Aaron the priest that he would have no share of the land, because the Lord Himself was his portion (Numbers 18:20).

Serving close to God. The priests and Levites served at God's house, helping His people worship. Their work and their joy were wrapped up in the Lord Himself.

A wonderful share. Was that a bad deal? No! The Levites received God Himself. Moses said the Lord was their inheritance (Deuteronomy 10:9). Land could be lost, but God could not.

David's song. David wrote, “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance” (Psalm 16:5-6). The lines were the boundary lines that marked out a family's land.

A happy share. David was saying that his share was God Himself, and that it was a wonderful share. In the same psalm he said, “In Your presence is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).

Mary's choice. Mary chose the same good share at Jesus' feet. She chose time with the Lord over everything else in that busy house.

What do you want most? Many things try to take first place in our hearts: games, friends, being liked, getting good grades. They can be good gifts from God. But they are not the best share.

Gifts and the Giver. A birthday gift is wonderful, but the person who loves you is better than the gift. God gives us many good things, and He Himself is better than all of them.

Brought to God. Our sin kept us far from God, our true portion. Jesus died to bring us back: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Then He rose again.

What to do. Pray like David this week, and tell God that He is your portion. Ask Him to be the first and greatest joy of every day.

“Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Jesus' word for part opens a theme that runs all through the Old Testament.

Meris. The Greek word is meris (say: meh-REES), a part, share or portion. The Greek Old Testament uses the same word for the Lord as the priests' portion (Numbers 18:20) and for David's portion in Psalm 16:5.

Numbers 18:20. The Lord told Aaron that he would have no inheritance in the land and no portion among the people, because the Lord Himself was his portion and his inheritance among the children of Israel.

Deuteronomy 10:9. Moses explained that Levi had no portion or inheritance with his brothers; the Lord was his inheritance. The book of Joshua says it again: the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance (Joshua 13:33).

Living on the Lord. The Levites had no tribal share of farmland like the others. God gave them the tithes His people brought for the work they did at His house (Numbers 18:21). Day by day, they depended on the Lord, who had promised to be their portion.

Psalm 16:5-6. “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.” David speaks like a Levite: his share is God Himself. The lot was how shares of land were assigned, and the lines were their boundaries.

More than gifts. The Levites received the Lord, not just gifts from Him. Psalm 16 goes on, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (16:11). The portion is not only what God gives. It is God.

Not only for Levites. David came from the tribe of Judah, and his family had land. Yet he spoke of the Lord as his portion. Every believer, not only the priests, can say the same.

Mary's portion. At Jesus' feet, Mary chose that same good meris. She chose the Lord Himself over every other share the day offered.

Brought to God. Sin separates us from our true portion. “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18). Jesus did not die only to give us gifts. He died to bring us to God.

Application. Ask honestly what you treat as your portion, the thing you think you could not be happy without. Bring it to God, and ask Him to be your first and best share.

Never Taken Away

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Jesus promised that Mary's good part “will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Most things in life can be lost. God cannot.

Things get lost. Toys break. Friends move away. Money gets spent. Even the things we work hardest for do not last forever.

Even good days end. A fun trip ends, and a happy party is over by bedtime. The busy work in Martha's house would soon be finished. But time with the Lord does not slip away like that.

A city in ruins. Long ago, an enemy army destroyed the city of Jerusalem. The walls were broken, and many of God's people were taken far away. A man of God wrote the book of Lamentations about those sad days.

Hope in the ruins. Almost everything was gone. But the writer said that the Lord's mercies are new every morning, and that the Lord was his portion, so he would hope in Him (Lamentations 3:22-24).

Asaph's discovery. A songwriter named Asaph was once jealous of proud people who seemed to have everything (Psalm 73:3). When he went into God's house, he understood how things would end for the proud (Psalm 73:17).

My portion forever. Asaph wrote, “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalm 73:26). Not just for today, and not only when life is easy.

Held by Jesus. Jesus said about His sheep, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28). No one can take you away from Jesus.

Choosing it every day. Another psalm writer told the Lord that He was his portion, and he promised to keep God's words (Psalm 119:57). We choose the good part by listening to God's Word and doing it, the way Mary listened.

What it cost Jesus. At the cross, Jesus let everything be taken from Him: His friends ran away, His clothes were taken, and then He gave His life. He died for our sins and rose again, and the Bible says that Christ, “having been raised from the dead, dies no more” (Romans 6:9). Everyone who trusts Him can have God forever.

What to do. When you lose something or feel sad, remember what cannot be taken. Tell God that He is your portion, and thank Him that He will never let you go.

“Which will not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:42). Jesus' promise about Mary's good part answers a question every heart asks: what will last when everything else is gone?

Lamentations 3:22-24. After Babylon destroyed Jerusalem, the writer of Lamentations wrote about the city lying in ruins. Yet he wrote that the Lord's mercies do not fail and are new every morning, and that his soul said the Lord was his portion, so he would hope in Him.

Portion in the rubble. Everything a person could lose had been lost: the temple, the walls, homes, freedom. The one portion no army could take was the Lord Himself.

Hope before rebuilding. He did not wait for the city to be rebuilt before he hoped. He hoped in the ruins, because his portion had not moved.

Psalm 73. Asaph almost slipped because he envied the proud, who seemed to have everything (73:2-3). In the sanctuary of God he understood their end (73:17). His conclusion: “My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (73:26).

Psalm 119:57. The psalmist told the Lord that He was his portion, and then promised to keep God's words. Choosing God as your portion shows in treasuring what He says, the very thing Mary did at Jesus' feet.

Taken, and not taken. Jesus' words to Martha set two kinds of things side by side. The serving of that day would be finished, but what Mary received at His feet would stay with her. Earthly things are taken from us one way or another, by time, by loss or at death. The Lord Himself is never taken.

John 10:28. Jesus said of His sheep, “And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” What Jesus gives, He also keeps.

The cost. The Lord who promised Mary that her portion would not be taken away let His own life be taken. Then He rose: “knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him” (Romans 6:9). Because He lives forever, the portion He gives cannot die.

Application. Think of something you are afraid to lose. Tell God about it honestly. Then tell Him that He is your portion, and read Psalm 73:23-26 slowly.

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