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Tuesday (Day 10)

VERSES: Luke 1:26-38, & Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:8

In life, there are times when we earn an outcome. We work all week in order to get a paycheck on Friday. We save every month so that we have a downpayment for our home. Some things come in response to our efforts.

Still, other things in life come to us as a gift we did not earn. We were fed by our parents when we were babies. Friends give us gifts for our birthdays. Sometimes we are simply surprised and/or blessed by the generosity and care of others.

In today’s reading, we see Gabriel (the same angel who visited Zechariah in the Temple) call on Mary at her home in Nazareth. Mary was a virgin who was engaged to Joseph. Gabriel tells Mary that she is “favored” by God. In the original language, the word used is “graced.” Gabriel basically says to Mary, “Greetings ‘graced’ one! The Lord is with you! Do not be afraid, for you have been graced by God.”

“Grace” means gift, something given not earned. Mary did not earn the right to be the mother of Jesus, she simply was “graced” by God. God would do for Mary the impossible.

Transitioning now to our lives, many world religions imagine salvation as something we earn. Work all lifelong and do more good than bad and earn eternal life. Biblical Christianity is different. Instead of salvation coming as a wage we earn, it is a gift God gives. Jesus came and died for our sins while we were still sinners. What we “earn” is judgment and death, but what God gives (to those who trust in Jesus Christ) is forgiveness and life.

Such generosity may sound improbable to us, but let us not forget, what is impossible for us is possible for God. The virgin was with child … and that child would ultimately die on the cross for our sins so that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. It is by grace we have been saved! God comes to us with a message of hope and life at Christmas … like Mary, will we receive it?