God Favors You!

Luke 1: 26 - 38

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. 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 name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end."

Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

The angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age; and she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. For nothing will be impossible with God."

And Mary said, "Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Mary must have thought she was dreaming. As a young woman, she was just now learning all that her life was going to be. Her parents arranged a marriage with Joseph, and she would soon be his wife. But, then that strange vision happened. An angel came to her. But what did it all mean? I could say that as a teenager, I am not sure I would have understood all that Gabriel told her.

First he told her that God knew who she was and that he favored her! How much would I love to hear that from an angel or God himself. I know I do everytime I read my Bible, but to hear it come out of the mouth of someone who has been in God's presence...WOW! Who wouldn't like to hear that? Mary must have been pleased, but it scared her too. With God watching over her and knowing her actions and thoughts, Okay, now that is definitely frightening. But Gabriel put her mind to rest.

Then he told her not to be afraid. Well, how could she not be at least nervous? I know that my stomach would be in knots and that I would have my doubts. How would you react to an angel coming to you saying that these things? Think about that today, as you go about your day. All of a sudden, as you are cooking supper tonight, or sitting, reading your book, or even driving on an errand, how would you react to that angel sitting there telling you God loves you and he favors you among all others?

Well guess what? God does favor you! He loves you and he sent his son, Jesus to save you from sin. Maybe today, I am that angel to remind you of that. Maybe someone else will say the same thing to you. Maybe you can say it to someone else.