“And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28, ESV).
I have always admired Mary, the mother of Jesus. Can you even imagine what she went through? I cannot begin to understand what being pregnant out of wedlock brings, especially at such a young age and especially in that day and culture. You can almost bet that hardly anyone believed that an angel had appeared to her to tell her that she was favored and would have a child. To think that she would become the mother of the Son of God must have carried a whole new set of emotions. And yet, in Luke, chapters one and two of the Bible, we can gain some insights into what Mary was like - especially about her relationship with the Lord. This December, we'd like to share with you some insights that we can learn from Mary and the very first Christmas.
Today, our word for Mary is FAVORED. The angel came to Mary, a virgin who was betrothed to a man named Joseph (Lk 1:27) and said that she was highly favored. In Luke 1:28, we see that she was troubled when she heard this and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be (Lk 1:28). "And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus" (Lk 1:30-31). In verse 34, we see that Mary asks how this is possible, since she is a virgin.
If I was Mary, I'm not sure the word favored is what I would be thinking! There is so much to learn here but I want to remind us of this: When life and God's plan don't unfold the way we think it should, let's remember that we are favored. God loves us and he has given us favor - the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. He has a plan for us and He is still showing it to us. In the middle of the plan, it might not look like what we think it should look like. God doesn't show us everything at once.
Mary was favored and yet she might not have felt it at the time. We have the advantage of looking back on Mary's life and knowing that she was favored. She lived a life that honored God, even when the world doubted her story.
This Christmas, let's live every moment like we are favored. Not only will it change our lives, it will change the lives of those around us.
