And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. – Luke 1: 28-29
When God sent His angel, Gabriel, He gave him specific directions on where to find Mary. He also gave His emissary specific instructions on how to greet her. In light of all the ways he could have approached her, consider just how Gabriel addressed her.
1). Hail. He did not say: “Hey girl!” or “What up little momma?” or “What’s up?” He said: “Hail!” This is a greeting for dignitaries, people of authority and even Caesar. 2). Thou art highly favored. You are not only favored, but highly favored by God. 3). The Lord is with thee. Just because you are a little girl from a little town does not mean that you are alone. The Lord is with you. 4). You are blessed among woman. Not only are you blessed, but your unique blessing causes you to stand out among all the women of the earth, past, present and future.
No wonder “she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.” Mary could not imagine who the angel was talking about because she never saw herself in these terms. Three quick points:
1. When God looks at us, He sees more in us than we can see in the mirror. When we look in the mirror, we see our image. When He looks at us, He sees His image. When we look in the mirror, we see our imperfections. When He looks at us, He sees us already perfected.
2. When we determine our worth, we must learn to listen to and accept how God describes us and not others. Often our low self-esteem has its roots in our failure to believe that we are who God has already said we are: (e.g. But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.. – I Peter 2: 9)
3. When God calls us in such high sounding words, we should take those words as a likeness to grow into instead of a description we can never live up to. Yes, it is true that the way God sees us may be more highly than we currently see ourselves. However, these words are not just the text of your calling. They are a picture of what God is calling you to be and what, with His help, you can be. That is miraculous!