Luke 2:25–32

Luke 2:25-32 

English Standard Version 

  Simeon always amazes me.  He'd been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn't die until he saw the Christ, but he didn't know how long that would be.  Who knows how long he had been waiting.  But he didn't give up.  He kept waiting.  He kept looking, because he trusted God's promises.

  I think about this a lot.  God makes promises to us, but sometimes, it's awfully hard to see how those are going to be fulfilled.  We wonder if God meant all those things that God said.  We wonder if the promises are true for us.  

  But as Christians, we're called to keep waiting.  We don't know how long we'll have to wait... but God is faithful.  The promises will be fulfilled, it's just a matter of when. 

  So keep faithfully waiting, watching for what God is doing, and be ready to celebrate.  God is good.

Luke 2:22–24

Luke 2:22-24 

English Standard Version 

  We know from the offering that Mary and Joseph brought that they were poor.  One of the things that I value most about Christianity is that it is rooted in simplicity and humility.  It hasn't come to conquer through worldly power.  It doesn't come to rule over -- it comes to serve, and the beauty and sweetness of the Gospel, rooted in service, has attracted billions over the millennia.  

  It's an amazing concept -- God comes to serve you, dressed in humility.  He hasn't come to wow you through riches and influence, but to bring you in to the Kingdom through acts of selfless love.  We who are attracted are then sent back into the world to show such love to others.