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.

Luke 2: 25-26

Simeon’s relationship with God is worth noting. We don’t have a lot of detail about his life, but what we do know about Simeon is remarkable. The verses above tell us he was “righteous and devout” and he lived with an expectation of seeing the Messiah before he died.

Thanks to the Holy Spirit, Simeo recognized the Messiah –

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;
for my eyes have seen your salvation
that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.”

Luke 2:27-32

Notice that he ends his proclamation with a reference to Jesus’ mission. In a few days, we celebrate His birth once again, but Christ was born with one purpose, to be the savior of all peoples. He came to die for us.

In the passage for today, Simeon was content to just see the promised Savior, but we do not have to be satisfied with only the arrival of the Christ child. We can experience His love and grace every day of our lives as we surrender our wills to His.