A promise fulfilled
by Eden Bishop
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And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (Luke 2:26).
Read Luke 2:22–40
When I was a child, the time of year that I would wait the most for was Christmas. It had many exciting draws: it was in the middle of the summer holidays (so no school!), we got to set up the Christmas tree and listen to lots of Christmas music, it signalled that my birthday was drawing near, and of course, what child would not be excited about presents? As a kid, it feels like you are waiting forever for Christmas time to come around, no matter how patient you try to be.
A child waiting for Christmas is a little bit like Simeon waiting for the greatest gift of all: the Messiah. Similar to how our calendars and pre-Christmas routines act as a signal or promise to us as children of presents, Simeon had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would get to see the Messiah before he died. Each year, we get to partake in a little reminder of how Simeon – and all of Israel – waited for the coming of the Messiah, and this reminds us of how we wait for the return of Jesus.
This text also reminds us that God is faithful and fulfils his promises. Simeon does get to see the Messiah before he dies. We can be assured that Jesus will come again.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the joyful fulfilment of your promise to your servant, Simeon. Please fulfil your promise of coming again to us, your faithful servants. Amen.
Eden Bishop lives in Adelaide and is a member at St Paul Blair Athol. She attends the University of Adelaide and is in the final year of her Advanced Economics degree. Eden enjoys reading (particularly The Lord of the Rings), playing the piano in church, knitting and learning fun facts about dinosaurs.
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