Luke 1:28-31
English Standard Version
28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
Today for someone to become pregnant before marriage would not be uncommon. But in the Bible days it could bring not only shame but death. How things change. Mary was favored not for being a good person but because she believed. She didn’t care what could happen to her but just accepted what the angel of the Lord came to say. We need to look at the word of God and just believe what God is saying to the believers. Mary was favored because of her faith. Could Jesus look at us and say we are favored because of our faith or would He see a lack of faith? Luke wants to make sure we know why she is favored and blessed. Her kinswoman Elizabeth says, “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken by the Lord” (1:45). She is not blessed because she is going to be the physical mother of Jesus, but because she believed God’s word. So, whatever blessing accrues to Mary is one we all can share, if we have her faith. We cannot all be physical parents of Jesus, but we can believe God’s word will be fulfilled.
In Luke 8:21, Jesus tells a crowd of people, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” His earthly family is to be complimented for their faithfulness to him, but all people may be members of his family if they trust the word of God as his mother and brothers did. We just need to do like the Charlie Brown and be honest what is the true meaning of Christmas and that is Jesus.
Be Blessed O favored one
Audrey Gunn
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