Psalms 37:4

Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

I can see arguments for both sides of that issue. On the one hand, you could say that folks such as Abel, Job, David, Lazerus, the apostle John...etc. were favorites of God and/or Jesus. On the other hand, it could be said that those individuals merely put themselves in the position to receive the love and affection that is freely offered to all. Just because most don't accept what's offered, doesn't mean they are less in His sight. Or if they are less in his sight, it's because they don't seem to want what he's offered them.

In the end, do we really have confirmation that either one is true, since we can't know the mind of God?