In A Minute: Famous Christmas Words

You have found favor with God. Luke 1:30

The angel greeted Mary with these words. Many people, including Christians feel that they are in disfavor with God. They see Him as extremely demanding and

being impossible to please. They carry guilt around as a back pack with an image of God as someone who is out to get them tucked inside.

Exactly, what is favor? Favor is God’s goodwill extended to us. It means grace. Both grace and favor relate to empowerment to live the Christlike life. So, when Mary is told she has found favor with God it means that God has shown good will toward her in that she has been chosen to give birth to His son. She also receives empowerment (grace) from Him to conceive the child and to walk out the humiliation of her misunderstood pregnancy and to endure her son’s passion.

God’s favor is not favoritism. He does not like you better than He likes me. He doesn’t love the preacher more than He loves you. His favor and grace are there to help you get through the every day of your life. You see Mary had to walk through the stigma of her pregnancy for the rest of her life. And she needed grace to be able to accomplish this monumental task.

And you need grace to. And because of God’s favor upon your life, grace will be granted to you. Your backpack represents the sum of human effort. The best it can do is to weight you down.

Then Jesus comes and runs along beside you with His blood-stained running shoes and takes that backpack from you with His blood- stained hands all the while shouting, “Favor!” and “Grace!” to you.