“Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon … 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. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the Child Jesus … he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your Word; for my eyes have seen Your salvation.” (Luke 2:25a, 26-27a, 28-30)
What it must have been like, to have God’s promise that you would see the Savior some day! And then he saw them. Two parents trying to figure out what they were supposed to do next, one clutching a baby. And that baby was the Son of God.
Simeon took Jesus up in his arms immediately. The Messiah, the Savior of the world, was here! And his joy burst forth in a poem of praise to God.
This was the high point of Simeon’s life. We know nothing else about Simeon—not even his age. But we do know that he saw Jesus and took delight in Him.
Let that be true of us as well—whether we are young or old, strong or weak, happy or troubled. Let us look at Jesus and take delight in Him.
Let us look at Him—this baby, this God come in the flesh. Let us see the love that drove Him to come to be one of us, to live and work among us. Let us see the mercy that took Him to the cross to suffer and die for us. And let us see the joyful Man who rose from the dead for our sakes, who offers us everlasting life now, this very day, if we will put our trust in Him. Let us delight in Him.
Prayer: Dearest Jesus, I love You. Thank You for coming to me. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* Name one thing you delight in.
* How do you show delight in a person?
* What specific thing delights you the most about Jesus?
Advent Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on December 29, 2022
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved
