When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” Luke 1:41-45
“Elizabeth asks, Why am I so favored? Why would God shine upon me? What have I done to deserve this? God’s favor rests on those whom He loves. Elizabeth has spent a life of devotion to God, a life of worship, of everyday faith, or carrying on in her circumstances. Her life may not have appeared very overly faith-filled, but she carried on, day after day. She made mistakes, she doubted, she wondered.
And yet, she receives God’s favor. What have I done to deserve this favor? We do not receive an answer in this text. It is possible the answer is simple: “nothing.” God has favor upon us. His people who do not deserve His majesty, love, or grace. God grants to us what He gives us out of sheer love and abundance. Why are any of us so favored? We tarry on, we move through our days, we make faithful decisions (or at least we try). We try to honor God with our lives, but none of this adds up to “deserving” God’s favor.
Blessed are those upon whom God’s favor rests. As we settle into this season of Advent, waiting and longing for the favor of God, let us be ever present to the fact that God’s favor is an undeserved gift we receive and His presence can knock at our door at any moment.”
Tracey Bianchi on “Why am I so favored?” in The Glory of the One and Only Son (Devotionals from Denver Seminary for the Advent Season, 2017) 6.
Welcome to Advent. Think of this as the season of anticipation. It will culminate with the greatest gift we could ever receive: Jesus, God with us. Receiving it positions us to offer the world the most generous gift we can give: life with God. It comes as a result of God’s favor.
The starting point is critical to grasp, otherwise our generosity will be warped. We must receive this favor freely. As Bianchi states, out of God’s “sheer love and abundance.” That’s what positions our giving to flow freely. May God form in us hearts that give with “sheer love and abundance.”
In God’s providence, a friend who reads these daily meditations showed us favor yesterday. As you may know, Jenni and I have been sharing one car for three months as I gave my car to Sammy when his broke down. The car (pictured above) belonged to his late wife. As a conduit of blessing he shared the car with us freely.
By God’s grace I now drive a 1999 Chrysler 300M. While it may have a lot of miles on it, it’s obvious that it has been cared for quite well over the years. It looks like a new car. What a gift from God after three months of waiting on Him and trusting in His provision.
Advent is about waiting. With Elizabeth I ask myself But why am I so favored? The answer is not that I did anything to deserve it but that I am loved by God. Friends, the fact that we all deeply loved by God – each and every one of us – is what Advent is all about.