Luke 1:26-30

Luke 1:26-30 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 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.

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

The angel Gabriel appeared to both Zechariah and Mary to reveal a special dispensation coming to earth, a time of God's favor, a time of unmerited grace through Jesus Christ the Lord. In Luke one we see a new chapter in the history of mankind opened by God. An angel had to introduce this chapter, for the subsequent evolving text about Jesus would be totally unbelievable without a supernatural encounter at the beginning. In reality what man or woman could have envisioned the Son of God coming to earth and then dying on a cross. Who could have conceptualized such a divine event as the Son of God presenting himself as a holy sacrifice for the sins of mankind, sealing forever man's position of favor with God, for the Son of God always has favor with God. No longer would men stand condemned by the law of righteousness. No longer would their sins be counted against them. No longer would the measuring stick of the law dictate their worthiness to God. No, God's favor came to Earth in the form of one born of a woman. Known as Jesus, He would die for mankind, deliver men of their sins, and make them worthy to sit in the presence of the Lord God. Jesus Christ personified righteousness, and He presented mankind to God in his likeness. As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.

Do we really know that God's favor rests on us as human beings? Or are we determining our worthwhileness to God by our actions? Are we going in and out of condemnation depending on our circumstances, whether we have sinned or not? Do we feel out of God's favor after we have sinned? We must remember Gabriel came to Zechariah and to Mary. Zechariah and Mary did not go to Gabriel. This is the "good news." God has come to us. That is what grace is about: God coming to us, not us going to God. If we feel we must go to God, we will always live in condemnation, unworthiness, but if we accept that God has come to us, we will be free from our sins, we will be free of our feelings of unworthiness. We should not seek spirituality through our deeds; we are to accept God's gift of grace. We should accept the fact that we are pleasing to him. We are pleasing because of his Son and his sacrifice on the cross.

On your own, you will never be pleasing to a continuously pure and righteous God. There is no sin in him. Otherwise, in comparison to God, you will always look black, dark in sin. You will always be a spot in his domain. You will never look like him. Now, how desperate are we? Totally desperate, for God will not allow sin to abide with him. He will not allow imperfection to dwell in his presence. What then must we do? Read the chapter of grace. God came down to men in the form of Jesus Christ. He gave his life for us. Because of God's mercy and grace, his righteousness has become our life. We are no longer in our sins and trespasses; we are FOUND IN HIM. Does that mean we go on sinning to prove God's great favor towards us? No, that means we bring our lives under his authority out of love. We owe so much to him: we owe our very existence to him. Our lives are eternally blessed because of him. Therefore, OUT OF LOVE TOWARDS HIM, we die daily to our natural affections and live for him. Yes, God's favor has come down to men. We are no longer our own, but we are his. We are IN HIM, bound for heaven, in the eternal presence of God as his children born out of season.