After the parable of the talents, we turn to Jesus’ interaction with Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38–42. Martha opened her home to Jesus and his disciples as they traveled through her village (v. 38). Her sister, Mary, sat at Jesus’ feet, listening to him (v. 39), while Martha was distracted by all the preparations…

As we turn our attention to the New Testament, there are few more obvious starting points than Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matthew 25:13–40). Anecdotally, this passage is mentioned to me more than any other when discussing the theme of achievement. We’ll need two weeks to explore the parable. First, what is the basic meaning of…