Simeon: A Faithful Servant

Christmas Character Series

Luke 2:22-40

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202%3A22-40&version=NIV;NLT

 
 

In the 2007 movie The Bucket List, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman portrayed complete strangers until fate lands them in the same hospital room.

Both men have a need to come to terms with who they are and what they have done with their lives.

To do this, they decide to complete a list of things that they want to see and do before they die… their bucket list.

 

Over the years, my bucket list has included taking a tour of Europe; hiking the Appalachian Trail; and participating on the reality TV show Survivor. A few years ago I finally fulfilled something on my bucket list; I sang a duet with my daughter at church.

 

Sometimes though, something that should be on your bucket list isn’t because it’s unexpected. Like when my granddaughter recently invited me to take her to the Father/Daughter dance. You can’t plan on something like that, but it doesn’t get any sweeter. Simeon may have had the same thought when he saw Jesus.

 

²⁵ At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.        NLT

 

Simeon had a very short bucket list. It was to see the Lord’s Messiah. When he saw Jesus in the Temple, he knew that his deepest desire; his hopes and dreams; his bucket list had been fulfilled.

 

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹ which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
   and the glory of your people Israel.”    NIV

 

The NIV translates verse 25 above as, “He was waiting for the consolation of Israel”. For Simeon, that was to see the Messiah. For us, it will be when we come before our Heavenly Father and hear his words, “Well done my faithful servant”. On that day, we will finally be home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ultimate Credentials

John 7

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+7&version=NIV;NLT

  

We live in a world that places a very high value on credentials. For example, in the field of medicine you have M.D., DMD and RN, to name a few. Or in the field of social work you have LSW and MSW. If you listed all of the degrees, licenses, certifications and designations from all the possible career choices, it would fill reams of paper.

 

Indeed, initials before or after a name gives a person instant credibility. However, that wasn’t the case for Jesus. In fact, in John 7, he suffered from an incredible lack of credibility. Very few people seemed to believe that Jesus was the Messiah.

 

Some discounted him because he was from Galilee; some because he wasn’t trained properly by a rabbi; even his brothers doubted him because he was a carpenter trying to be something better. All of them were trying to hold Jesus back from who he was and whose he was.

 

But Jesus didn’t see himself that way at all. Jesus didn’t let the crowds, the Jewish power brokers or even his own brothers, influence how he viewed himself. He knew that his Father in Heaven had sent him. He knew that his teaching was from God, not man.

Jesus knew what his mission was.

 

¹⁶ So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. ¹⁷ Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own.       NLT

 

You and I, as his followers, have been called by God to this same mission. To spread the Gospel; to build the kingdom of Heaven; to share the good news.

 

It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what training you’ve had or how others see you. You are not defined by your job, your possessions, your family, where you live or your accomplishments. No matter what your background, your struggles or your weaknesses; God is calling you to serve in His kingdom.

 

So here’s some questions for you to ask yourself. Do you hold Jesus back in your life? If so, how? What are your credentials? What defines who you are and whose you are? How can you participate in fulfilling God’s mission?

 

Ultimately, Jesus’ credentials were that he was called by His Heavenly Father. Our credentials? They’re the same.

 

  

(If God has spoken to you through this blog, please feel free to share the link with others.)

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