FRIDAY, MARCH 2
Scripture: Ephesians 1:6, Luke 1:26-29

In Ephesians 1:6 we find a very interesting word that is used to describe what the Lord has done for us in the Family of God by making us accepted. It is interesting that the terminology in the New King James is, “…by which he has made us accepted in the Beloved.” The Greek word translated “made us” is khar-ee-to-o and is only used three times in the entire New Testament. This is a very unique word with limited usage and it is interesting to look at the first place it is used in Scripture which is Luke 1:26-29. Luke 1 is a very familiar passage that we hear frequently especially at Christmas. It says, “Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one (khar-ee-to-o), the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.” Why was Mary troubled when she heard khar-ee-to-o? Was it because she had trouble believing that she was highly favored? It is easy for many of us to argue with being called highly favored perhaps saying, ‘That is not me! That is not in my life. There is nothing about my life that says I am highly favored.’ It is obvious many of us do not understand what is being said to us in Ephesians 1:6 because if we understood it we might be as highly troubled as Mary was. Most of us cannot accept that we are as important to God as Mary was! God is saying we belong to Him and are crucial to His plans. If we comprehend Ephesians 1:6, we should be troubled! I know I would be! Is it hard to believe that we could mean as much to God as Mary did. If this word is true, then God is willing to work in us to make Christ visible through our lives. The question is, how, Lord, do you want to do that? Is there anything currently unseen about Christ that He wants birthed and made visible through us? How about Jesus the Judge?