God’s Favor is Given
Sunday’s Verse:
From Luke 2:40 ESV
“And the child (Jesus) grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.”
Luke includes this unassuming verse before his famous story of Jesus at the Temple when He was twelve. It’s easy to skip, but it’s essential. Before Jesus teaches the teachers, before He performs miracles, before He begins His public work, He grows. He learns. He lives a normal life.
In this verse, Luke reminds us that the Son of God did not bypass childhood. He did not spring forth an adult Jesus ready to speak in sermons and parables. He grew in wisdom as children do. By listening and learning, by asking questions, by being formed in the Scriptures, and by faithful parents. God’s favor was upon Him not because of what he did, but because this was God’s way of entering our humanity fully.
This is encouraging to me from a Lutheran perspective. God works through ordinary means. Growth is gradual. Wisdom is received, not earned. Jesus himself lived under the Law before he proclaimed it.
This matters for us. The Christian life often feels like it’s hidden from view. Days are filled with routine, responsibility, and small faithful acts. We may wonder if anything is happening at all. Luke 2:40 says it is. God is at work in the growing, the learning, and the waiting.
The same God who watches over the child Jesus watches over us. He strengthens us by His Word and His promises, day by day. God’s favor is not something we earn. It is given to us in Christ, long before we feel wise or strong.
✝️ A Prayer for Today:
Lord Jesus, you humbled yourself to grow as we do. Help us to trust that you are at work in our ordinary days. Grant us wisdom by your Word, and keep us in your favor by your grace alone. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
The photo above was created by ChatGPT