Watching and Waiting

Finally.

He heard the message years before.

He had anticipated the moment........longing for it.........watching and waiting..........

Every  child that entered the temple courts caught his eye.......anticipation would begin to pound within him.......

this could be the One that he had been waiting for.......

Male child after male child passed by his gaze....years were escaping him....time getting away........ and he was aging as each child, all of them eight days old, were carried beyond him to the place where they would be marked......

His heart was seeking for the One....

Finally the day came..........

Suddenly the doors were opened..........Mary entered with the child in her arms, Joseph not far behind her........ instantly Simeon knew! His heart began to dance......his eyes now filling with tears.......Joy! Joy! Joy!

Mary pondered his recognition in her heart. 

He had been expecting Him........his longing intensifying with time.

God's own son, Jesus, had arrived and the watchmen's heart was satisfied...........

Tears stored up for this day were now  streaming down his time worn face.......

Glory surrounded Him..........the holy One............he felt a kindred spirit.........as if he had known Him for years.........this infant child.....the Messiah........the Saviour of the world..........

Every secret desire of Simeon's heart had already been captured in the heart of the One he now held in his arms.

He was embracing Him...... the Word made flesh.......confirming the ancient word that had been promised to him years before.....

"You will not die until you have seen the Christ," it had been promised him.

Hearing and waiting were now being rewarded with seeing.........

Nothing else mattered to him.......other expectations paled in the light of the One who had come to redeem the world.......... the Messiah.........God's proof that He is love........God had sent  a Redeemer for lost souls. Sinners. For those who were not anticipating nor recognizing Him. For those not worthy of Him....... He had been sent for those who would despise Him and reject Him......

But He came..........

Knowing there are those who would be watching for Him........waiting........expecting......desiring Him..... for those like Simeon..........

He will continue to come to the waiting heart.......to those who wait, expect, and desire Him.......He comes......that is a promise!

Until He comes......again!

Cheri

Painting by Ron DiCianni

Story based on Luke 2:25-30