Forward Facing Faith: Simeon

The second chapter of Luke contains an often overlooked story about a man named Simeon. We don't know a lot about Simeon but we do know that he spent his days in the temple in prayer, worship and humble expectation that one day he would see what he had only perceived in his faith. His passionate pursuit of a promise was fueled by the fact that the Holy Ghost had revealed to him that he would not see death before he first beheld the Christ.

I wonder, this morning, how many times do fail to listen as the Holy Ghost whispers promises to us of things that are yet to come. I wonder how many times in our lives do we allow all the background noise of our lives to drown out the small still voice of the spirit that speaks of better things to our souls? How many times do we actually hear the voice of the spirit trying to persuade us that God is going to bring a promise to pass but, instead of pursuing the promise, we allow doubt to rob us of the promise?

Today I want to place the spotlight on Simeon. He's a relatively small player in the grand scheme of the New Testament. He has a bit role and only a few verses are used to sum up his whole contribution to the story of the life and death of Jesus Christ. But Simeon was a man of great faith. He was a man who heard a promise in his spirit and he saw it through eyes of faith. He was a man who possessed a faith that pressed for a promise that had not yet come to pass. A faith that compelled him to spend his days in the temple in prayer and worship, watching and waiting for the promise to be fulfilled. I don't believe he was shocked when Mary and Jesus came into the temple. While he was overtaken by joy, I don't believe that he was overtaken by surprise.

I believe that, as he took the Christ from his mother's arms, he was going through motions that he had rehearsed many times over in his mind's eye. I believe that the moment when Jesus was carried into his life was a moment that he had already recognized because of the perception of his faith. Because of a tenacity of faith that refused to relinquish hope in what the spirit had promised, he saw his promise come to pass. I submit to you that it was this forward facing faith that compelled him to heed the directing of the spirit to be in the temple on that particular day.

I want to cultivate that kind of faith in my life. Faith that will recognize the fulfillment of the promises of God in my life as something that has already been seen and recognized through the perception of faith. I want to have the kind of faith that looks beyond the current circumstance and physical distractions and see, inhope, what god is getting ready to do. Even as Simeon saw what he had only perceived in his spirit become a reality, the spirit continued to speak to Simeon and through his eyes of faith he saw things that would never come to pass in his life time.

As he held the culmination of his promise in his hands, he gazed into the eyes of his savior and peered, once again, into the future through eyes of faith. When Simeon held Jesus his natural eyes saw a baby being presented at the temple in accordance with the law. But his faith saw salvation! When Simeon said, in Luke 2:30, "My eyes have seen your salvation" he was talking about more than what his natural eyes had perceived. Forward facing faith perceived what could only be seen through the prism of promise. He looked upon that baby Jesus through the lens of the prophet Isaiah's words. Faith looked forward to a day when the bondage of sin would be broken. Faith proclaimed what the spirit had spoken to him, this child I hold is the Christ!

As Simeon held Jesus in his arms his faith perceived what John would later declare. He saw a light that had shined in the darkness. He saw more than a child, he saw the light that would bring revelation to the Gentiles. This forward facing faith of Simeon looked beyond even the salvation of his own and saw a salvation that was to be extended to whosoever will! That's the kind of faith I'm talking about, a faith that is always looking forward to the better things that God is getting ready to do.

Simeon's whole life, up to that moment, had been lived in pursuit of the promise that he would see the Christ. However, as he held his promise, his faith looked forward to a greater future and latched onto a promise that would outlive him. I believe that Simeon died in faith, looking forward to a promise that was yet to be fulfilled. I am reminded of Hebrews 1:13 which declares that, "These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

This is the kind of faith I'm talking about. Faith that sees the promise afar off. Faith that is fully persuaded of a promise that has only been seen on the distant horizon of hope. Faith that embraces and clings to the promise of better things that are yet to come. This, my friend, is the quality of faith that I want to cultivate in my life. It's a continual expectancy that God still has better things in store for my life, for my family, for my church, and for my city. I don't know about you this morning but I am persuaded to embrace what my heart has only seen through faith and press towards the promise with all that I have!