"Simeon took him in his arms and praised God..."
I was reminded last night listening to my pastor's sermon of this powerful statement as Joseph and Mary had their child dedicated at the temple. For Simeon, it was prophecy fullfilled, a belief come true, and a life now accomplished. The Messiah was foretold hundreds of years prior. This prophecy had become the foundation for Simeon's belief system. His whole life had been to the devotion and study of this belief system. Dr. Luke shares with us few details about Simeon, but the brief description does use the words "righteous and devout." Righteous here means "observing divine laws" according Strong's Lexicon while it shows devout meaning "taking hold well." Parenthetically, as I have examined my life of late, I would admittedly share that I have been far from being one that is righteous and devout. However, wanting to become so, I immediately think I need to model what one does that is righteous and devout. Simeon's example is taking the One whom he longed to see come to save the world, simply embracing Him and worshipping the God who sent Him! How long have you waited to embrace your Savior? Have you ever embraced Him and then let Him go? Interestingly, the same baby that Simeon rushed to embrace is the same One that stretched out His arms on a cross to embrace the world! By the way, the Gospel of John tells us that nothing can snatch us out of His hands once we are in them...Romans tells us that nothing can separate us from the love of God. Sounds to me like Simeon's studies were on to something. No wonder he was quick to embrace the newborn babe! I think I will hold on tight as well....afterall, He is holding on to me....and He is holding on to you! Merry Christmas!
