The story of the birth of Jesus continues in Luke 1:28-30 (NASB): “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.'”
The angel Gabriel comes down to earth and appears to a young virgin girl named Mary to deliver an astounding message from God in heaven. The message he has to give is so amazing, even the greeting itself is perplexing to the young girl. And it’s this greeting that we are going to look at today.
How would you react if the angel Gabriel suddenly appeared to you and said, “Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you”? And while you are trying to absorb what is happening, he speaks again and says, “Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God.” I would venture to guess that most would be speechless.
Maybe you have not had Gabriel or any other angel appear to you, but did you know that you do have the unmerited favor of God upon you? This unmerited favor is called grace. And it is a free gift given to those who will simply believe and receive.
The Greek word for “grace” is charis. And the Greek word for “gift” is charisma. The root meaning of the word “grace” is “gift.”
It says in Ephesians 2:8-9 (AMPC), “For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]”
This unmerited favor of God upon your life is what Christmas is all about. This is why God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to earth. To gift to you His grace that was purchased for you by the redemptive work of Jesus at Calvary.
God tells us in John 3:16, “For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.”
You can receive this unmerited favor today. Let’s pray. {eoa}
Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the author of DARE to Believe, Greater Than Magic, The Healing Creed and Conquering the Spirit of Death. Visit her at authorbeckydvorak.com.
This article originally appeared at authorbeckydvorak.com.
