Mary

Today, we're going to take a look at Mary, Jesus' mother. She has become something of a controversial person. There are those who exalt Mary to a level that is completely unwarranted. It's unfortunate, however, that many others react to that by almost ignoring Mary. The fact of the matter is that she was a godly woman whose life has much to teach the Church. And that's one reason why we're going to take a look at her. The particular situation that we're going to consider is when the angel Gabriel came to tell Mary that she would be the mother of the Messiah. Listen as I read that from Luke 1.

There is one particular part of what Gabriel said that I want to focus on. It's when he said,

          Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

I want to take a look at this 'finding favor with God'. What is that? Is it something you should be thinking about? What difference does it make? That's what we're going to be looking at this morning. 

So, what does it mean to find favor with God? This phrase pops up more than a few times in Moses and the Prophets. Here are a few examples.

But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

Moses said to the Lord, “See, you say to me, ‘Bring up this people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, ‘I know you by name, and you have also found favor in my sight.’

Now the boy Samuel continued to grow both in stature and in favor with the Lord and also with man.

The phrase also shows up in the Gospels and Letters. Here are some examples of that.

So it was until the days of David, who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.

         

Then, of course, we have this phrase applied to Mary.

So, what do we have here? Well, in each case we have someone who distinguished himself or herself and is, therefore, noticed. Sometimes that person is noticed by other people. Here, those quotes about Samuel and Jesus fit. They found favor with men. What we are particularly interested in, though, are the times when such a person is noticed by God. So, according to Gabriel, Mary distinguished herself from those around her. And God noticed. She found favor with God. That is, He was 'favorable' toward her. God singled her out from the rest. So, the basic idea of finding favor with God is having some quality that distinguishes you from others, God noticing that and, therefore, responding favorably to you.

That's the basic idea. Now, for a question. Is finding favor with God something that is simply a part of being a Christian? That is, do all Christians find favor with God? The answer, it seems to me, is clear enough. No, they don't. Remember that Mary didn't live in a pagan culture. She lived among the people of God, the Church of her day. But it was Mary who found favor with God. She distinguished herself. There was something about her that was different from so many of the others. Likewise, today, there are Christians who, because of some quality about their lives, distinguish themselves from so many of the people of God. That gets noticed by God, and they find favor with Him. So, just to be clear, God loves all of His children equally. But some do distinguish themselves from the rest. He notices that, and He responds favorably toward them.

I think that this something worth considering. And I'll give you one reason why. The common assumption these days is that all Christians are pretty much the same in God's sight. As long as you believe in Jesus, it's all good. And as with lots of other ideas about the faith, this is true and yet not true. All Christians are equally loved by the Father. It's important to hold on to that. But, some Christians, by their choices, do distinguish themselves. Because of some quality that God sees in them, they stand out from the rest. Only some find favor with God. And Mary was one of them. So, to say it in black and white, there are distinctions within the Church. Because of the choices that Christians make some are favored and others are not.

It's important to understand what makes this distinction. Some think that the quality that distinguishes someone is a certain emotional fervor. They are 'on fire for the Lord'. And everyone knows that they are because they are always excited. There are plenty of people who are emotional in this way who have not distinguished themselves so that God notices and responds favorably. They are just emotional people. In other cases, it's the person that is so very involved in ministry things who must be in this group of the favored. Not necessarily. For lack of a better word, it's a matter of piety.  It's the godly person who is among these folk. And that piety will show differently in people according to things like personality, circumstances, spiritual gifts and other similar things. Remember,

The Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.

The quality that distinguishes someone so that he or she gets noticed by God is a matter of the heart. Mary had this quality.

Now, let's move on. What does God do with those who have found favor with Him? Well, He gives them work to do. So, go through that list of examples again: Noah, Moses, Samuel, David, Mary. These found favor with God, and God gave them work to do. Now, don't make the mistake of thinking that the work God gives always results in a big splash that everyone sees. That did happen with Mary, but it doesn't have to. What is key about the work that God gives such people is not that it gets noticed by lots of folk. Finding favor has nothing to do with becoming famous. It's about being faithful when it comes to whatever the work is that God has given you. C.S. Lewis wrote a short book titled The Great Divorce. It's a story in which Lewis finds himself in heaven. One scene is about a large parade where crowds of saints and angels are cheering someone, some great Christian. And as this lauded person comes in view, Lewis sees that it isn't some well-known personality. It's someone who, when she lived on the earth, was a poor woman who quietly loved the people around her. No one noticed her while she lived. No one, that is, except God. She distinguished herself and found favor with Him. She was given work to do and she did it well. And people still didn't notice her, but God did. Our culture has poisoned us and has made us think that doing something important means doing something big. That's another of Satan's lies. When someone finds favor with God that person is given work to do, work that God wants done. And it may well be that no one else will notice that work. But God will. And that's all that matters.

Now, next step. Consider the work that God gave to Mary. It was hard. Think about it. Mary could see that her life was going to be ruined. There would be whispers as pregnant and unmarried Mary walked down the street. And what would happen when she told her parents? And except for another angelic visit, she would have lost Joseph, too. And yet, she accepted the work God called her to without hesitation.

Behold the handmaiden of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.

Those whom God favors will often find that life becomes more difficult. The work given will be, in some way, trying. Part of the reason for that is that it is a holy work being done in an evil world. The culture is against it. And another part of the problem is that Satan is not stupid. He knows who is favored. He can figure out what the work is. And he won't just let it slide. Being favored leads to being given work to do which leads to suffering of some sort or other. Go back and consider again those people I mentioned earlier, those who found favor with God. Which of them found the work of God easy?

So, there are those who distinguish themselves from the rest. God notices them, and they find favor with Him. He gives them work to do, work that will, in one way or other, make life that much more difficult.   

So, another question. Why would anyone want to find favor with God? What it leads to is just a harder life. Who needs that? It's much easier if you just believe in Jesus and show up on Sundays. Much easier. Here's one reason some pursue favor with God: love. Jesus is so loved by some that they willingly endure the added difficulty. They understand the big picture. It's the seed of the woman against the seed of the serpent. It's a fight about whose kingdom will rule. And love for Jesus motivates these to take on more for Him. Yes, life becomes more difficult but for a good reason, a worthy reason. Jesus is worth the hardship.

And it's important to remember that love is not a one way street. Jesus responds to such love with His own. One gift that He gives in response is the gift of joy. So, listen to how Mary responds to what is happening to her.

My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.

No complaining about how hard her situation is. No bitterness because of lost dreams. Rather, rejoicing in God. The work is hard, but there is joy. God be praised, His kingdom is being spread and Satan is being defeated. Mary rejoices in that. The more that I think about it the more it seems that joy is one of those defining qualities of a thriving Christian. Joy is the emotional part of contentment. It is something that marks out those who have found favor with God.

Last question: how does a Christian find favor with God and become more useful to Jesus? What I've said is that there is some quality about these folk that distinguishes them. Like what? Here are some examples of qualities that distinguish some from the rest. They should sound familiar. These people are learning how to answer Jesus' question, 'Do you trust Me now?', with a clear 'Yes', even in those really hard situations. They are learning how to give thanks in all things. Yes, all things. They are learning to be content being considered merely ordinary - as long as their ordinariness is advancing the kingdom of God. They aren't done learning how to do these things, but they do them in a way that distinguish them from the rest. Oh and one last example. They are learning to repent quickly when they fail in these things that they are still learning to do.

Those are just some examples. Here's the basic idea behind them all. Their love for God has captured their thoughts, their imaginations, their desires. And it shows in their choices. I can't help but think that this is what was behind Mary's quick response of submission to the message from God that Gabriel brought. A love for God that had captured her thoughts, her imagination, her desires. Her choice showed it.

So, what do you do? The answer to that should be easy. You pray. And what do you ask for? You ask for a love for Jesus that captures your thoughts, your imagination, your desires. You also pray that the Spirit would make clear to you the counterfeits that have captured these aspects of who you are so that you might repent of that and give them completely over to Him. You pray something like that and you will be distinguished from so many others. You will find favor with God and will be useful to Him.

A great need of the Church in America today is for more people whom God has favored and given important work to do. I'd like to think that many of you will meet that need.