Highly Favored

Luke 1:28: "And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'"

Most of us have heard this passage taught or read. It the very familiar passage where the angel tells Mary she will carry the Jesus who will be conceived by the Holy Spirit. It is remarkable to think that this young girl had an angel appear to her and tell her she was "highly favored" by God. How would that make you feel? How you react if you were told you were highly favored by God? Wouldn't that be an incredible thing? Wouldn't that change your perspective on life, yourself, your future? How would you react? What would you say in return? Would you sign for joy, fall down in worship, or just allow the precious words to resonate in your mind? Well, God has said that to you - to anyone who is His child – anyone whose life is hidden in Christ through faith in His completed work on the cross. He said it in Ephesians 1:6: "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved." You might be thinking, why that doesn't say the same thing, but it does! You see the Greek verb that means "highly favored "is "charitoo." This verb is only used on other place and that is in Ephesians 1:6. Here the verb "charitoo" is translated "has made us accepted." Although our English translations don't same the same phrasing, it is the exact same verb in the Greek. It is the exact same tense, same usage, and same meaning in both Luke 1:28 & Ephesians 1:6. Think about that. You, if you are a child of God, are highly favored, just like Mary - highly favored in the eyes of God. What an awesome thought. Merry Christmas.

"Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" (2 Cor. 9:15)

(Thoughts borrowed from Dr. Erwin Lutzer Moody church – Chicago)