The Posture of a Righteous Man

I've always been intrigued with Simeon in the Temple in Luke 2.  An old man described as "righteous and devout" who hoped for the "consolation of Israel."  I even wrote a play for him one Christmas!

But I love how poetically Luke brings the Trinity together in Simeon's reception of Jesus.

Luke 2:27–28 (ESV) And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

This righteous man had three things happen as an example of how to be a righteous man before God:

1. He was led by the Spirit into the temple to meet Jesus.
The Spirit draws a man to Jesus.  A man is not a man until he has met the man Jesus.  

2. He held on to Jesus.
Perhaps weakened from age.  Since he was ready to die after this moment.  But he holds on to Jesus.  When life is treating you rotten, hold on to Jesus.  He is the one who was treated worse.  He is the one who can sympathize with our predicament.  A righteous man isn't always feeling on top of the world, but he knows to hold the one who made the world!  

Sometimes, life is going to tempt you to let go... don't!  Hold on.  It will get better.  God is in the business of working in all things.  He specializes in taking the evil of the world and repurposing it for our ultimate good.

3. He blessed God.
He thanked and worshipped God for the Son sent to save!  How often do we thank God for Jesus?  A real man, a righteous man is a man who isn't afraid to worship.  A man who isn't ashamed to lift up the Name of Jesus and glorify God for His Son!  

I think about how his dying wish was to see Jesus... and so one more point about Simeon that we can all adapt:

4. He longed to see Jesus.
A righteous man is a man who isn't just looking to get to heaven.  A righteous man is looking to meet His Lord and Master.  Every man has a master, whether or not he believes it.  Every man is serving someone, even if that someone is himself.  But every other master fails except for Jesus.

PRAYER:
Father, thank you for Jesus.  Thank you for Jesus.  Thank you for Jesus.  Thank you for Jesus.  Someday, I will see Him.  Face to face.  How my heart.... burns.

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