Luke 2:25-32 NIV
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for Him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took Him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your Salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: 32 a Light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.”
I love how this entire passage drips with the activity of the Holy Spirit.
Simeon felt like he could die in peace having seen the Savior born. Jesus hadn’t even done anything yet! But Simeon knew who He was, He knew what God had spoken, and therefore, he knew that nothing could stop the Salvation of the Lord coming to mankind. It draws back to memory what the angel had said previously to Mary, “For with God nothing is ever impossible and no word from God shall be without power or impossible of fulfillment.” (Luke 1:37 AMPC) Whenever God says something or declares a promise, whenever a freshly spoken word of God comes to us, it contains its own ability to perform itself.
Simeon operated at a great degree of revelatory gifting. He heard from God. He communicated with God, he was led by God even to the point where He was led to go to the temple that morning for this divine appointment! But notice the Holy Spirit was “on” Simeon. He wasn’t infilled with the Holy Spirit as we now can experience today. How much more can we (and should we) operate in this type of revelation having the Presence of God living on the inside of us!
Passages like this have a way of creating a holy dissatisfaction within me. As I read and re-read today’s passage what stood out to me the most was that the gift was not just salvation, it was also revelation. I am forever grateful for the price that Jesus paid to redeem me, to save me, to wash me and cleanse me from my sin. To bring me into a place of right standing with God. To adopt me as His own. But that’s now where it’s supposed to end. “A light for revelation to the Gentiles” or as some translations read, “to the nations”. Yes, of course, to reveal the love, grace, and mercy of God, an everlasting righteousness, and the way of life and salvation to them, to us. But it’s so much more than that.
God wanted to “flip the switch on” deep within us, and create a way where we could operate with eyes that had the ability to “see” and ears that had the ability to “hear”. To know Him, to know His voice, to be led by Him, to recognize His Presence, and to live and move and have our being in Him. This is the gift we now have access to. The light of revelation.
How “illuminated” would you say your life is? Is the light burning brightly, or has it grown dim? Are you finding your way? Or do you often feel lost? Here’s the good news: Light is always the brightest the closer we get to the Source. The closer we draw to God, the brighter our path becomes, the more clearly we see. Him and everything else. Things become easier in the light, don’t they? And no matter if were at a point where we can say our path seems lit, it can always get brighter. So I leave you with the verse the Holy Spirit drew me to today. Knowing that the Light has already come into the world, but praying that God allows us to experience it at a greater degree this Christmas:
“O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill and to Your dwelling.” Psalm 43:3 AMPC
Linda G Riddle 