There are three people and three occasions when the expression, “One thing” is used in Scripture. Three people…these are the most illustrious, the most well known of all the people in Scripture…

David…the model king and forerunner of Jesus, Israel’s final and eternal king. David was the human ancestor of the Messiah, who was born of David’s human dynasty…Jesus, the son of David. 

“One thing”… When did David speak these words? He wrote them as an expression of desire and purpose in one of his most beautiful psalms…a prayer to which God responded…and will always respond. 

“The one thing I ask of the Lord— the thing I seek most— is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord’s perfections and meditating in his Temple.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This prayer has an answer and a sequel which I will explain in a moment. 

The Hebrew words David used to express his longing give us the breadth of his idea. He wanted to sit down, to settle in God’s house…the place where God lived…to gaze at and contemplate God’s splendour with delight…and to (“plough”, literally) inspect the capacity of His palace or temple. 

David’s desire might have been to remain forever in the place where he met God…but the temple had not yet been built…and the tabernacle was in Shiloh, not in Jerusalem… so David had set up tent of worship in his home city, Jerusalem. I think that what he really wanted was to be in God’s presence, to be aware of Him, always, wherever he was. 

At this point in the history of God’s people, His presence, in their understanding, was confined to a place…the tabernacle in the wilderness…then in Shiloh… and, eventually, the temple in Jerusalem. 

God’s answer came in a simple invitation…

“My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

David was to learn that God’s presence was not in a place but wherever he was, a breath and a call away, not someone he could see but someone whose voice he could hear. 

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The second time this expression was used was in the mouth of Jesus Himself…an accolade to Mary of Bethany. Martha, the older sister, was resentful towards Mary, demanding Mary’s presence in the kitchen while Mary had chosen to sit at Jesus’ feet.  

Jesus’ rebuke was kind, gentle, but telling. “Many things, Martha…you have chosen to give your attention to many things…distractions…ordinary things. Mary has chosen one thing!”  

What was the difference? Martha’s attention was split among many things.  Mary’s was focused on the one thing that mattered. Did this mean that Mary would do only one thing her whole life? No! This meant that Mary would build her whole life around one thing. 

However, Mary had one lesson to learn before she could offer her devotion to Jesus completely, without strings attached. 

Fast forward to another scene in Bethany. Lazarus was dead. Mary was devastated, disillusioned, her faith in Jesus utterly destroyed. The one on whom she had pinned all her hopes had failed her. He didn’t come in time to save her brother. 

Her rebuke was loaded with accusation.  

“When Mary arrived and saw Jesus, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

‭‭John‬ ‭11‬:‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

…the same words as Martha had used but uttered from a broken heart. 

Jesus wept, His heart bleeding for the woman who had lost her “one thing” before He could finish what He had started. She had not yet learned to trust Jesus for who He was, not for what she wanted. 

Now look at “the Mary” after Lazarus was given back to her, alive and well…her “one thing” confirmed and sealed. 

“Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.”

‭‭John‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭NLT‬‬

…not the odour of death and loss but the fragrance of pure devotion. 

Mary was His forever, pouring out her best on Him…unconditionally bound to Him by a faith that could never again be shaken. 

The third “one thing”…the one that completes our understanding of where the “one thing” must land…comes from the pen of Paul…

“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬-‭14‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“The end of the race”…”the heavenly prize “…the language of the Olympic Games…not a laurel wreath but a crown…crowned.with righteousness…the new nature…a new image…a perfected identity…a replica of Jesus Himself

In John’s language…

“Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬ ‭NLT

 There three “one things” are going somewhere. David wanted to gaze. Mary wanted to sit. Paul chose to strive…to reach the goal.  They all wanted to land at the same place…the image of Jesus…and the process was the same…being in the presence of Jesus. 

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Gazing…contemplating…the key to being transformed…becoming…full circle…everything that God intended for His sons and daughters to be from the beginning…just like Jesus.