How to Increase in Favor with all People
Luke 2:52:
"And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men."
One of the greatest riches God has given mankind beside the gifts of time and the Holy Spirit, is the gift of relationships. Man is a relational being. And we derive that nature from God Himself.
Every normal human being will naturally love to have friends or relationships. In family, in the quarter, at work, in school, we want to relate.
One of the greatest punishment of criminals is to put them in an isolated cell for days. You can almost die if you do not talk for days. Relationships are blessings.
Relationships can open doors. Relationships can relieve your pains. Relationships can bring balance in your life. But the problem most of the time is how to manage them. The Bible says, in Luke 2:52 that Jesus Christ increased not only in wisdom and stature, but also in favour with God and men. Jesus had favour with men (good relationships).
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The same is said about the early Christians. They were not only worshippers of God, but they had favor with all the people, (Acts 2: 47). That explains why the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
I believe one of the challenges of Christianity today is that Christians have not learned to develop relationships with themselves and with their neighbors.
For that reason, there are still many lost people around us. How do we increase in favour with man? Let’s learn from Jesus Christ:
(1) Truly love and appreciate people. Jesus loved all people and He proved it.
(2) Be concerned about people’s needs.
Jesus was concerned with people’s needs: the rich, the poor, the great and the small…
He offered His time and attention.
(3) Be ready to serve people. Jesus’ compassion moved Him to serve people.
He looked into their problems and sought to bring solutions. You can even offer to pray for someone.
(4) Always seek to add value to people.
Show kindness. Jesus was not out to take, but to give. Always seek to also be on the giving side.
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Prayer: Father, please, help me to understand and apply these principles around me.