Jump Start # 2165

Luke 2:30 “And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid Mary; for you have found favor with God.”

Our verse today is the announcement of Gabriel about the coming birth of Jesus. Mary of Nazareth was chosen. The virgin Mary is how the Catholic doctrine refers to her. She was, until Jesus was born and then Mary had other children. The Bible names them. She followed Jesus throughout his ministry and sadly saw her son’s death upon the cross.

Mary was not the mother of God. That statement makes no sense. God is eternal. If God has always been, then how could such have a mother? How could someone be before eternity? Mary was the instrument to carry the Jesus clothed in a physical form.

A few thoughts about our verse today:

First, God chose Mary. There wasn’t a contest or a screening process. Just as God chose Abraham, David, the apostles and other leaders, He can look upon the heart of an individual. God knew what He was looking for and He saw it in Mary. God sees. God found Mary in Nazareth. There would have been dozens and dozens of Jewish girls about Mary’s age. She stood out. She was the choice of Heaven. Was Mary perfect, meaning, without sin? No. She needed the saving blood of Jesus as we all do. Finding favor with God does not mean perfection. Today, we’d pick Mary’s life apart. We’d find the mistakes and failures. We’d be naming her sins. God didn’t do that. He praised her by saying that He had found favor with her.

Second, Mary pleased God. Many modern scholars believe that Mary was young, possibly a teenager, getting that idea that Jewish girls typically married young. If this be true, it is just another example of young hearts that can and do follow the Lord. The three Jewish youths in the fiery furnace, young Timothy, young Joseph, all remind us that young people can and do please the Lord. Don’t give young people a pass and excuse a lack of interest, and a lack of spirituality because they are young. Young and dumb doesn’t catch the eye of God. Young and foolish is found in Proverbs. Young and rebellious, is often the spirit of college campuses. Looking for some reason to get out of classes to protest, burn, tear down and be destructive. Mary, found favor with God. That one statement tells us much. She had spent time worshipping God in the synagogue. That pleases God. She had followed the Law of God. That pleases God. She had prayed to God. That pleases God. Her heart was focused and tender towards God. And, that caught God’s eyes.

Third, up to this point in the Bible record, Mary is unknown. She wasn’t chosen because she was a prophetess. She wasn’t leading the nation. She hadn’t written some article that was causing reform to sweep through the countryside. She appears to have been a quiet, humble person who was simply living her life with a view towards Heaven. She wasn’t hoping that God would pick her. She hadn’t done anything special that caused God to notice. Her life, her character, her heart, was this way. Mary was this way. She seems surprised and shocked with the news from the angel. Sometimes a person will do something to be noticed or if they think that there is a chance that they could be chosen, they will put on the good behavior for a while. I don’t see this with Mary. Had Jesus not come to earth at that point, Mary would have continued to live a life that found favor with God. She chose to please the Lord. That was her ambition and goal. That was Mary.

Joseph, who later marries Mary is called a righteous man. I don’t see Mary putting on a show to win Joseph’s favor. In other words, in our times, I go to church with you, until the “I do,” then I start the “I don’ts.” This wasn’t a game with Mary. This wasn’t to get in good favor with a Jewish family. How can you say this, you ask? Because she found favor with God. The Lord sees through all the motives, intentions within our hearts. He knows. He knows when we are serious and when we are trying to impress others. He knows when we truly love Him and when we are just trying to look good. Remember the Pharisees and the washing of the inside of the cup first? Jesus could see right through their motives and intentions. On the outside they looked pretty good. However, on the inside they were a mess. Most would not have seen the inside for a while. Jesus did immediately. He knew. So, when God says that Mary has found favor with Him, it tells us that the Lord saw Mary as being a genuine believer. She was serious about her walk with the Lord.

Finally, Mary is not the first, nor the last to find favor with the Lord. In the parable of the talents, two of the men found favor with their master. Well done, good and faithful, was the response of the master. Paul found favor with the Lord. Those suffering saints in Revelation found favor with the Lord. Hebrews 11 is a chapter of dozens who were approved of by God. Over and over our Bibles give us examples of men and women, young and old, who walked faithfully with the Lord. They made God their choice. They often suffered because of their choices. And, today, the kingdom is filled with those who are loving, pleasing and serving the Lord. They are putting God before all things. They are raising their families to be moral, godly and caring. They worship regularly. They are generous. They are forgiving. They are modern examples of righteousness, hope and faithfulness to the Lord. These spiritual giants come in all ages. They are active helping others to know the Lord. They are the backbone of every congregation. They truly hide themselves behind the cross of Christ.

Mary found favor in the Lord. You have too.

Roger

Jump Start # 759

Luke 2:30 “The angel said to her, ‘do not be afraid, Mary; for you have found favor with God.’”

We continue our look at the conversation between Mary and the angel when she was told that she would carry Jesus. Mary was chosen by God. There was no contest in which she competed against other girls. She knew nothing of this until the angel appeared to her.

We might add a couple of thoughts here. Mary married Joseph and after the birth of Jesus, had other children. The Bible lists several of her children by name. Also, we remember, when Jesus was tempted by Satan to bow down and worship him, the Lord responded by saying that ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.” Only God is worshipped. Only God is prayed to. Mary was human, not divine. We do not read in the Bible of others worshipping her nor praying to her, nor any other human.

Most scholars believe that Mary was a teenager when the angel appeared to her. That is a remarkable thought for us. Mary was young, yet she found favor in the eyes of God. There is a long list of other young people, such as David, the young shepherd, who God chose to be the king of Israel;  young Daniel, taken captive from his native land and placed in the Babylonian environment; young Joseph, tossed aside by his brothers and in a foreign land, all who served the Lord.

It is easy to think that teenagers are not capable of being spiritual or doing much. That’s not true. We may let them off too easy. Joseph, Daniel, David and Mary, and we could include in that list, Timothy and Hezekiah, all showed remarkable faith and courage in serving the Lord. There is no reason that a young teenage Christian today cannot make a difference in his world. The list of contacts and friends that young people have is enormous. They stay connected with friends. There is a great influence for good that can come from that.

Sour attitudes, living without a purpose or a plan, and being lazy characterizes far too many young people today. God’s young people need to rise above that and be different. So many are. They are the bright spots in their classrooms. They are leading their sports team in prayer and right attitudes. They help others. The spirit of Mary lives on in so many young Christians today.

Mary found favor with the Lord because she knew the Lord. It’s not a stretch to imagine that Mary prayed often to the Lord. Mary worshipped the Lord. Mary knew Scriptures and lived a life of righteousness, as a teenager. It can be done. One doesn’t have to travel to the pig pen with the rest of the world. One can be different. One, even young, can choose God. She was noticed. She was noticed by God. She was noticed by those around her.

It’s easy to discount the contributions of young people. It’s easy to assume that they are immature and not worth listening to. It’s easy to think that there isn’t much that they can do. Often, in congregations, young Christians are not given much chance nor responsibility. They become restless and want to do things, only to be told “No.” God didn’t think that way. How important it was to find someone to bring Jesus into the world. Those early years of Jesus’ life were in the hands of Mary. Godliness, obedience and faithfulness to the Lord were all a part of that upbringing. God would have selected carefully the one who would influence Jesus. God chose Mary.  God chose a young person. He didn’t choose a old woman, but a young woman.

Moms and dads have much to do with the spiritual quality of their children. Get them praying at meal time. Take them to visit others. Get them busy doing things for others. They shouldn’t get paid for everything. Life doesn’t work that way and money ruins the spirit of doing things because they are the right thing to do.

My boys and I shoveled many snowy driveways, helped many families load boxes, lift couches when they moved and jumped at a moments notice when a neighbor needed help. My boys are grown now and all but one lives in other states. I hear them telling me of things they are doing, and it makes the heart swell to see that they caught the spirit of a servant. It takes time to develop those attitudes, open eyes and servant’s heart. There were many cold mornings when school was canceled that they wanted to stay in bed. Dad made them get up, grab a shovel and head next door to shovel a neighbor’s driveway. I always went with them. We were doing this together. Sure they moaned a bit. Sure they looked for the easy excuse out. Sure they tired to put it off. But when we worked as a team and they saw the good that they did, they realized it was the right thing to do. I’m sharing this with you so you will understand that spiritual and character development doesn’t come from just sitting in a Bible class and being lectured to. It comes from doing. It takes more than doing things one time.

So grab the kids, make a batch of cookies and head off to visit one of the widows in the church or grab the shovels and head to a neighbor’s driveway. When there is some work to be done at the church house, grab the kids and include them. The heart of a servant is a life long lesson. The hard work, sweat, sore muscles, dirty hands that come from helping others is a lesson rich in so many ways. My boys still talk about those days. Hard work is good for a person. Volunteering to help someone else out is even better work.

Mary found favor with the Lord. That didn’t just happen. Her up bringing and her character had so much to do with that. Get busy with your family. Now that schools out, use the opportunity to do things for others. You will not only put a smile on someone’s face, but you are building the heart of your child.

Roger