Thought of the Day !! to Kick Off Christmas Week

            The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David. – Luke 1:26-38 (NLT)

 

Just who was Mary?  Well, if it were not for this event in history, no one would ever know outside a few relatives and friends living some 2,000 years ago. 

She was a typical Jewish girl, promised to a man named Joseph.  They were engaged, which was much more formal than today.  A legal marriage contract would be drawn up, which could only be broken by a divorce.  The girl would live with her parents during the engagement period, which would last about year or so.  Afterwards, the wedding would take place and the marriage would be consumated.  The only thing that we know about her family is that she had a relative named Elizabeth who was also pregnant at the time with John the Baptist, due to arrive in a few months. 

We also know that she was favored by God.  But why?  She hadn’t conquered a Giant like David or built a temple like Soloman or even preached a good sermon like John the Baptist would later do.  The answer is not in anything she did, though.  Instead, it was because of her humble obedience.  After the angel Gabriel shares what will happen, she says that she’s the Lord’s servant and will do whatever He desires.  It seems that this was just her nature.  She heard from God, and said, “Yes, Lord.  Here I am.”

How might we find favor with God?  We find favor with God in the same exact way, by being humble and obedient.  So many people look down on others.  And many of these are so-called Christians.  They forgot that even Jesus humbled himself, putting himself on the same level with the least and the last and the lost. 

To be humble, you must have love in your heart.  Only when you love your neighbor can you see all people as equals…even enemies.  God desires…Jesus teaches

…and Mary represented humility at it finest.  It is this humilty that leads to obediance.  We can easily say we’re no better than others, but until we show this by interacting with others and caring for those who are in need, it’s just words.

Become humble and obedient to God and you might be surprised just how favored you are too.

In the love of Christ,

greg