Favored by God (part 1)

Luke 1:30
And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God..."

Having favor with God, what does this mean?

Well let's take a look at Mary's life:

• Mary was set to be married to Joseph, historically it is assumed she was between the ages of 13-16. At this time, she was told she would receive a child, from the Holy Spirit. This meant she would have a child out of wedlock, and not fathered by her soon to be husband. Not to mention the pressure of a junior high aged girl with the responsibility of giving birth to and raising the Son of God, the Savior of the world.

• Anyone who heard about her would think she was adulteress, and this was a crime that was usually punishable by dressing a woman in rags, dragging her into the streets, stoning her, spitting on her, degrading her, beating her and leaving her in the street as an example.

• Now Joseph,being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. However an angel came to him, and by God's grace, Joseph stayed with her. Most others, on the other hand, would view her as a liar and a blasphemer for saying God impregnated her, and a whore, for being adulterous, for the rest of her life. People would come to Jesus in His adult life and say "at least we know who are fathers are." referring to His mother being an adulteress.

• When Mary was ready to give birth to the Son of God, there was no room in the inn for her. She had to give birth in a stable with the animals.

• Then Herod tried killing all male children under the age of two in the area. So Mary and her new family had to flee.

• On top of all this, she would eventually have to see the torture, and crucifixion of her own son.

Most of us would not see God in this, we would not feel favored and would be in despair, thinking everything was going wrong for us at every turn.

Troubles and trials await anyone who seeks after God and follows Christ. He Himself went through troubles most of us could never imagine. However there is hope. In my next blog I will talk about why these trials are a blessing and why we can be sure God is guiding us through them for His perfect purpose and our benefit.