His Favor

His Favor

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
peace to men on whom His favor rests."
Luke 2:14

The gospel of Luke provides us with the most detail about the Christmas story and the events that surrounded the birth of Jesus. It was Luke who recorded that "there was no room for them in the inn" and that the baby would be found "wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger". His gospel also adds the appearance of an angel to the shepherds and the shepherds visit to Mary, Joseph, and the baby in the manger.

But the aspect of the Christmas story that stood out to me was the message of the company of angels who also appeared to the shepherds praising God and giving Him glory, declaring "peace to men on whom His favor rests". We have so many ways that we describe the birth of Christ and the gift of Christ to the world bringing salvation to all men but in calling it an act of God's favor the angels proverbially hit the nail on the head.

When we think of finding favor with God, or receiving God's favor, most of us talk about jobs, finances, relationships, and blessings of one form or another. God sending an answer to prayer quickly-that is God's favor. God giving us something much better than we deserve-another act of God's favor. Someone blessing us in a time of need we attribute to the favor of God. But think of what the angels looked at as favor.

The ultimate favor of God was the gift of His Son, the offer of hope in a hopeless world and the bringing of light into the deep darkness of a sinful world. Jesus doesn't represent a choice we all get to make, someone we can believe in or follow is we so desire, His coming into the world in the form of a man two thousand years ago was nothing less than the favor of God to a people who were living in slavery and in oppression.

And He is that to us today. Our problems may have changed, cloaked in different forms and names but our need for a Savior remains the same. And as the birth of Christ was certainly the turning point of history, so receiving God's favor in the form of His Son is the turning point of every life that receives Him.

No matter what your circumstances might be, His favor rests upon you for the simple fact that God sent His son into your world to bring you salvation, hope, peace and rest.

Merry Christmas & God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church