When a 103-year-old lady was asked, “What do you think of the future?” she answered “It’s short!” How long the aged Simeon waited before he saw the promised Messiah we don’t know, but it must have been quite some time. When you’re told — even though old — that you will not die until you’ve seen the promise come to pass, heaven’s waiting room becomes an exciting corridor (Luke 2:22-35).
Simeon was pious, patient, and above all spiritual. The appearance of the Messiah was an ancient promise. Simeon’s hope was that he would live to see it come to pass. Simeon had a better reason than most who were his age to welcome the dawn of every new day.
Hope keeps faith alive, even while strength is failing. A revelation of the appearance of a long-cherished hope strengthens a frail life by adding a daily sense of expectancy. The Bible says, “In the evening it shall be light.” Hope encourages us to believe that we will soon hold in our hands what we’ve long held in our hearts.
Simeon’s role was a small but important one. We remember the aged man for living on in faith until he saw the promise; and for his prophetic blessing over the forty-day-old Jesus, whom he held in his arms.
Simeon was where God had placed him, at the right time and in the right place. The aged man played his prophesied role to perfection. It was the best possible ending to a long and godly life — one that inspires all those who wait for the second appearance of Jesus, the Messiah. This time not as an infant but as our triumphant Lord!