“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation” – Luke 2:29-30
Simeon was promised by God that he will see the Savior. God promised him that he will not die before he can see the Savior. Now, as Mary and Joseph went to the temple to fulfill what the Law demanded of every 8th day-born child. Simeon was convicted by the Holy Spirit to go to the temple and so he sees Jesus Christ and has carried Him to his arms. After that he declared this very message telling God that he is ready to die because he has seen God’s salvation. He was ready to let go because he needed nothing more.
In this season of Christmas, we have celebrated Christmas on an exact date. We had good parties; exchanged gifts and heard the message of Christmas. As we sang Christmas carols and heard the message, did we know who we were singing about? Or who was the message referring to? Or did we just go to the motions and excitement? Did we see the Savior? Did we recognize that it was the time for our Savior? Can we say the same like Simeon? Can we let go of things and realize that we needed nothing more?
So, in this season, we must become like Simeon. Though God did not promise us to instantly die the moment we see our Savior, instead God promised us that He will give us life the moment we see our Savior. Death will be only the transition door to have our eternal life through our Savior. We should see our Savior, not only during Christmas but always. Christmas should be all about our Savior who is Christ the Lord.
Since in Simeon’s time Jesus was born, he really had the chance to hold Jesus in his arms but now, as we wait for His coming, the only way to see Jesus is through our eyes of faith. We have to understand that Christ is the real reason for this season so that we will be reminded of His coming and so that like Simeon, we will be able to see God through the lens of faith and we can say that we are ready to let go of all the things because we have seen the Savior.
Seeing the Savior means we have also seen His salvation and we believed in Him and in His salvation. Through this, we will be able to let go of things and we can say that we are ready to die for death could no longer hold us because we are saved by grace through our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, as we wait for the Lord and for His second coming, we have to be comforted and find relief in Christ’s salvation. We have to understand that we are already saved if we truly believe in the grace and mercy that only God can give through the death and resurrection of Christ.
Therefore, the birth of Jesus is the start of our hope in the Lord. It is the start of our redemption and that through His birth, we are at peace with God and that we are reconciled with God. Now, may we always remember that as we wait for the Lord, we should put our faith in Him fully. We should always remember to rejoice at all times and just like Simeon, we will rejoice at our end because we have seen our salvation. May we always serve the Lord and always make Him as our priority. Let us always trust His promises and timings until we can say, “Lord we have seen Your salvation, I am ready to be with You.”
