Eagerly Waiting

This week I finished Acts chapter 12 in my Bible study. It’s a good place to stop and pause to reflect on what has been happening and what is about to happen. Basically, the first 12 chapters told us about how the Holy Spirit used the apostles to spread the good news of Christ to the Jews in Jerusalem and the Jews (with a few Gentiles) in Judea and Samaria. The focus was mostly on the apostle Peter. Now the book moves on to telling us about how the Holy Spirit moved in Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles throughout the remotest parts of the earth. I’ll pick up on that starting next week.

For this week, as part of my reflections, I paused to think about the true importance of Christmas. Basically, it’s a remembrance of the Old Testament prophecies being fulfilled. Yet not all the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in Jesus’ life and deeds. There are other prophecies, from both the Old and the New Testaments, which are yet to be fulfilled. We learn early in Jesus’ story, when He was presented at the temple after His birth, that there were people throughout the land who were waiting for the birth of the Savior. Two of those people were in the temple that day.

Simeon, a righteous and devout man who was looking for the consolation of Israel, was there. Luke tells us that, “the Holy Spirit was upon him.” (Luke 2:25) Simeon’s response to seeing the baby Jesus was an example of something that would be said by someone who was waiting expectantly for the arrival of the Messiah. “For my eyes have seen Thy salvation, Which Thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, A light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Thy people Israel.” (Luke 2:30-32) Because of Simeon’s faith and trust in the truth of the Old Testament, he knew what he was looking at when he saw Jesus – because he was expecting God to show him.

The other person was Anna, a prophetess, who was “advanced in years.” She was also in the temple that day and upon seeing Jesus she, “began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.” (Luke 2:38) She also, like Simeon, had kept herself faithful to God and was ready to believe in the Christ child. She, too, knew what she was looking at when she first saw Jesus.

We too have the Scriptures telling us of a time we should be looking forward to: The Second Coming of Christ. It’s been a long time since Jesus rose from the dead. Are we still waiting expectantly for His return? Sometimes I am patiently waiting and sometimes I’m grudgingly waiting. Neither of those responses correspond with what Simeon and Anna were doing. They were eagerly waiting (the original word for waiting implies an active and eager action). Am I eagerly waiting for Christ’s return? Not as much as I should be.

So, as I celebrate Jesus’ first coming to earth, I will remember that His second coming is soon. When? We don’t know the answer to that, but it is sooner each day than the day before. And, I will try to be eagerly, expectantly, actively waiting while I celebrate the salvation He has already brought us.

Merry Christmas.