Simeon Waits
John Rigg
Since the very beginning of my walk with Jesus, I have sensed that Jesus would return before I would die. Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part, but I have always felt this way in my heart. There have been times that I have shared this with others and they said that they too have felt the same; that there was something telling them that the second coming of Christ would occur before they would leave this earth.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18, Paul describes the scene, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Whether Jesus returns before I die or not, it is good to eagerly await His appearance! Hebrews 9:28 reminds us, “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Luke, in his Gospel, tells us that there was a man named Simeon that also awaited the coming of Jesus. However, Simeon awaited Jesus’ first coming. Luke 2:25–29 records, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 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, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 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.’”
Although I cannot say that I have heard from God through the Holy Spirit that I will see the coming of the Lord before I die, I can say that like Simeon, I await God’s consolation. I hope you do as well.
What should we do while we wait?
Maybe we can learn something from Simeon?
Luke says that while he waited, Simeon was righteous and devout. However, we are told through Scripture that no man or woman is righteous on their own, “As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one’” (Romans 3:10). Therefore, righteousness is a wonderful gift from God to humanity through His love. It is the God-given quality passed on to man upon believing in the Son of God.
Simeon had believed in the Son of God long before His coming; so must we.
Secondly, Simeon was devout. To be devout is to be pious, which is a reverent feeling toward God that displays itself in the way one lives his or her life. We are not told how long Simeon waited for the Lord to come, but we are told that while he waited, he was righteous and his actions were devout.
So, as we wait for the Lord to return, we too must be made righteous through our faith in God’s Son and allow His righteousness to express itself in the way in which we live our lives.
Take a few minutes and honestly answer the following questions.
Am I anxiously awaiting the Lord’s return?
Have I been made righteous?
Am I devout?
John Rigg
Since the very beginning of my walk with Jesus, I have sensed that Jesus would return before I would die. Maybe it is just wishful thinking on my part, but I have always felt this way in my heart. There have been times that I have shared this with others and they said that they too have felt the same; that there was something telling them that the second coming of Christ would occur before they would leave this earth.
In 1 Thessalonians 4:16–18, Paul describes the scene, “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
Whether Jesus returns before I die or not, it is good to eagerly await His appearance! Hebrews 9:28 reminds us, “So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Luke, in his Gospel, tells us that there was a man named Simeon that also awaited the coming of Jesus. However, Simeon awaited Jesus’ first coming. Luke 2:25–29 records, “Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 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, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 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.’”
Although I cannot say that I have heard from God through the Holy Spirit that I will see the coming of the Lord before I die, I can say that like Simeon, I await God’s consolation. I hope you do as well.
What should we do while we wait?
Maybe we can learn something from Simeon?
Luke says that while he waited, Simeon was righteous and devout. However, we are told through Scripture that no man or woman is righteous on their own, “As it is written: ‘None is righteous, no, not one’” (Romans 3:10). Therefore, righteousness is a wonderful gift from God to humanity through His love. It is the God-given quality passed on to man upon believing in the Son of God.
Simeon had believed in the Son of God long before His coming; so must we.
Secondly, Simeon was devout. To be devout is to be pious, which is a reverent feeling toward God that displays itself in the way one lives his or her life. We are not told how long Simeon waited for the Lord to come, but we are told that while he waited, he was righteous and his actions were devout.
So, as we wait for the Lord to return, we too must be made righteous through our faith in God’s Son and allow His righteousness to express itself in the way in which we live our lives.
Take a few minutes and honestly answer the following questions.
Am I anxiously awaiting the Lord’s return?
Have I been made righteous?
Am I devout?
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