8 DAYS.
I like countdowns. I have all sorts of countdowns going on. For example, as of today, in 8,094 days, I will celebrate gold with Kyla… gold being 50 years of marriage. In 187 days, my daughter will say, “I do.” And in 109 days GENESIS will celebrate Easter in our new home… can’t wait for that!
Ok… back to our Christmas countdown…
8 days to go!
Are you ready? Are you feeling prepared?
Not asking so much from the perspective of shopping, baking, and all the other things that kick into high gear at Christmas time. Rather, I’m asking are you prepared?
Now I could be wrong, but I’m guessing you might be thinking to yourself… “Prepared for what?”
To best answer that question, let me introduce you (or re-introduce you) to a man named Simeon. We first meet Simeon in Luke’s gospel. Luke does not give us a ton of detail about Simeon, but what he tells us is certainly powerful.
See that with me in Luke 2:25…
“He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.”
We’re not given much detail about Simeon, but three crucial details paint a powerful picture of who Simeon was…
He was righteous…
He was devout…
He eagerly waiting for Jesus.
As you read on in Luke’s gospel, we receive one more critical detail about Simeon… a detail that not only shaped who he was, but how he lived.
See that with me in Luke 2:25-26…
“The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.”
From what we know, Simeon was not given a time frame, he was simply told, before you enter Paradise, you will see the Savior. Again, we don’t know how long it was, but it’s a ‘good chance’ that it was a long time between the promise and the promise fulfilled.
Imagine walking up every single day wondering…
‘Is today the day that I am going to meet the Savior?’
I’m guessing there were a myriad of emotions that Simeon had to navigate as days turned into months, and months turned into years, and years turned into decades. I can only surmise the challenging moments he had to navigate…
“Did I not hear what the Spirit of God promised?”
“Was the Spirit of God just messing with me?”
“Did the Savior come, and I just missed it?”
There’s not much we know about what Simeon’s wait was like nor all the questions that filled his heart and head, but we do know this…
HE KEPT LOOKING!
Simeon was told that He’d see the Savior and something in me tells me that Simeon lived with a ‘PERHAPS TODAY’ mentality. In other words, Simeon walked through the many moments that make up a day living in expectation that his next moment might be ‘THE’ moment he’d meet His Savior face to face.
8 DAYS.
I don’t know what you still have to get done in the next 8 days, but I do know this, the Savior wants you to see Him!
If you chose not to live with the expectation of seeing the Savior, well, it’s a good chance you won’t see Him. And for sake of clarity, not because He’s not present, but simply because we were not looking for Him.
I’m not sure how Jesus would want you to see Him over these next 8 days leading up till Christmas morning, but I’m FULLY confident that He wants you to see Him.
See His Kindness.
See His Grace.
See His Patience.
See His Generosity.
See His Love.
See His Goodness.
For Simeon, just so you know, he saw Jesus. The same Spirit that promised Simeon that he’d see the Savior is the same Spirit that prompted him with… “You see that really young and very poor couple approaching the temple steps carrying a baby… go say ‘hi.’”
Simeon saw the Savior in a very ‘unexpected’ way, but when you’re living a ‘perhaps today’ lifestyle, there’s no such thing as an unexpected moment because every moment is just one more moment to see the Savior.
