"HIGHLY FAVOURED!"

Luke 1:28-30                             (KJV)
"28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art "HIGHLY FAVOURED", the LORD is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, FEAR NOT, Mary: for thou hast found favour with GOD."



How does it feel to be told by an the Angel Gabriel that you, yourself, are blessed and "HIGHLY FAVORED" among the men/women of the world?  In considering the visit Mary experienced in Luke 1, I would have been shaken beyond description to have been visited by any Heavenly being as highly "ranked" as Gabriel!  But to hear what he had to say to Mary must have shocked her beyond words.  As a matter of fact, Gabriel promptly told Mary "FEAR NOT, Mary: for thou hast found favour with GOD"!

Now FEAR is one of the biggest tools the enemy has in his arsenal.  The words "FEAR NOT" is used in the King James Version well over 300 times, leaving me to believe that FEAR should never be a part of our lives.  Why would anyone FEAR anything when they had just been told they had "found favour with GOD"!  Either we fail to fully grasp WHO GOD really is, or we don't understand how much HE loves ALL of us, or maybe both?  The PLAN of Salvation entails GOD in the flesh, JESUS CHRIST, becoming a suffering servant for all of mankinds redemptive substitute!  Having GOD's Angel come to talk to you is one thing, but having GOD's only SON die in your place gives new meaning to LOVE and GRACE!

But we also need to grasp just how unholy we are.  Saying we are "not that bad" is a lie from the devil, and we must reject that premise.  The Apostle Paul , arguably the greatest Christian to ever serve, says in 1 Timothy 1:15 "The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that CHRIST JESUS came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the FOREMOST"!  It has been wisely stated, "The closer we get to the LIGHT, the more dirt we discover"!  To think you aren't "that bad" may indicate just how Spiritually immature you really are!

So many times in my writings, and in my life, I have been guilty of assuming that I "SEE" things clearly, but in 1 Corinthians 13:12 Paul writes "For now we see in a mirror dimly, BUT THEN face to face. Now I know in part; THEN I SHALL KNOW FULLY, even as I have been fully known"!  GOD knows my heart (Hebrews 4:12) and HE knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts.  Yet, because of the price JESUS CHRIST paid to ransom my soul I am "HIGHLY FAVOURED"!  HEAVENLY FATHER, cause me to SEE that only because of the sacrifice JESUS made for me, I can approach YOUR THRONE as one who is "HIGHLY FAVOURED"!