In the church life there are different functions. There are three kinds of functions in the service of the church represented by the three persons in the house. Firstly is the serving function represented by Martha (12:2). Throughout all the centuries, Martha has been treated unfairly. Throughout history, Christians have looked down on her. Do not condemn Martha. It is unfair to condemn her. We should not think that Martha is no good, for this chapter says that Martha served. This is very good, for, in the church service, the business affairs of the church must be taken care of. How could we have the food taken care of without Martha? We need her to prepare the food. I appreciate Martha’s service. We all must change our concept about her and not look down on her. We should encourage the sisters to be Marthas. Perhaps you sisters are still quite spiritual and religious, but I am rather practical. I do not want to be that spiritual. Suppose all the sisters are Marys sitting there quietly being spiritual. Who is going to prepare the meal? We must have some Marthas who are diligent, capable, active, living, and practical. Although we are spiritual, we must still serve practically. Martha’s service was needed in that house. Likewise, in the church service, the first function needed is to serve by doing certain things, by taking care of certain practical affairs.
The second kind of function in the service of the church is represented by Lazarus. It appears as if Lazarus did nothing. He just sat there at the table with the Lord, enjoying the feast with Him. But we must remember that Lazarus was the living testimony of the resurrection life. He did not testify by doing but by living in the resurrection life. His testimony was not in labor or in works; it was in the enjoyment of the resurrection life. He was a witness to the power of the Lord’s resurrection life. Wherever he was, the testimony of resurrection life was there.
Martha’s service was good, but it did not attract people. It was the testimony of Lazarus that attracted them. This does not mean that Martha’s service was not good and was not needed, for certain things had to be taken care of. Even Lazarus had to be served by Martha. Therefore, we must realize that even when we have a good testimony of life, we still need the service of Martha. Otherwise, we will have nothing to eat.
The second kind of function in the church is the testimony of life. It is not by doing but by living. It is not a kind of work; it is a kind of life. It is not by laboring; it is by enjoying the Lord. It gives people the feeling of resurrection power, the manifestation of resurrection life, and the enjoyment of the Lord as life. This is a strong testimony that the Lord can make dead persons so living and enable them to feast with Him. In the church there must be such a living testimony, such a function of life. There must be not only the service of practical affairs but also the ministry of life. Martha’s service is necessary, but Lazarus’s ministry is even more necessary.
Mary represents the third kind of function (12:2-3). She represents the dear ones who love the Lord very much and who pour out what they hold most precious upon the Lord. They love the Lord so much that they give the best to the Lord. This is what Mary did. She poured the costly ointment upon the feet of the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair. In her heart nothing was so dear, so precious, and so costly as the Lord. She, along with many others like her, loved the Lord with the best she had. Her estimate of the Lord was that He was more valuable and lovable than anything else. For her, the Lord was the most precious and the most costly One.
Mary’s pouring the precious ointment upon the Lord Jesus is a sign of the proper church life. Although you may realize that Mary anointed the Lord Jesus with the best ointment, perhaps you have not seen that this is a sign of the church life. The main characteristic of the church life is anointing the Lord with our best love. The main expression, aspect, and characteristic of the church life is that we pour out our ointment upon Him. The church here is likened to a house that is filled with the preciousness, the sweetness, and the pleasantness of the aroma of the ointment poured out upon the Lord Jesus. This ought to be the main expression of a local church. When you come into a local church, the first thing that you should smell is the loving ointment poured out upon the Lord Jesus. It is not simply that Mary loved the Lord, but that she poured out her best upon the Lord, and this becomes a sign of the proper church life. In the proper church life we all must love the Lord to such an extent.
Therefore, we have three kinds of functions: serving, testifying, and loving. We have the service, the testimony, and the love poured out upon the Lord. These three items must be found in the church life. Whenever people come to us, they must realize that among us are the service for the Lord, the testimony of the Lord, and the love poured out upon the Lord. These three items are a must. We must have the service, serving all the time. Even more, we must have the testimony, testifying that the Lord is the resurrection life to us. There is no need for us to labor in this aspect of the testimony. We simply need resurrection life. After we have been resurrected with Him, it is unnecessary for us to labor. We simply sit with Him, go along with Him, and enjoy the feast with Him. This is the real, living testimony that the church must have, and this is the very expression of the Lord. Moreover, we must also have the absolute love shown to the Lord. When people come into our midst, they should say, “Oh, these people love the Lord at any cost. They will pay any price in loving the Lord. In their hearts nothing is so costly, so valuable, so lovable, and so precious as the Lord Himself.” We must give people this kind of impression.
We all must be a triangular member of the church. We must have three corners. In the past I heard some sisters say to me, “Brother, I am not a Martha. By the Lord’s mercy, I am just a little Mary.” Once a brother who was very living said to me, “Brother, in the church some are Marthas and only a very few are a Lazarus. By the Lord’s mercy, I am just a Lazarus. I can do nothing. I just sit here testifying of the Lord Jesus.” I doubt that he was a real Lazarus. We all must be Martha, Lazarus, and Mary. When someone asks you your name, you should reply, “My name is Martha-Lazarus-Mary.” This is the proper name for us all to have.
Again I say that in the church life there must be at least three items: the diligent service for the Lord, the living testimony of the resurrection life of the Lord, and the absolute love poured out upon the Lord. If we are truly practicing the church life, we must have the service, the testimony, and the love toward the Lord. We all must be Martha, Lazarus, and Mary. Such a church is the result and issue of the Lord being life to us. Chapter twelve is the issue of chapter eleven. This kind of service, testimony, and love comes out of the Lord being resurrection life to us. With these functions, there is the genuine church life. In the real church life, the service to the Lord is rendered, the testimony of the Lord is seen, and the love toward the Lord is poured out. Here we can enjoy the Lord with other saints, and the Lord Himself can dwell, rest, and feast in satisfaction. This is the real expression of the Body of the Lord, which is a vessel to contain the Lord and to express Him.