“Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon…it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.” —Luke 2:25-26
Forty days after Jesus’ birth, His parents took Him to the temple in Jerusalem to perform purification rites, offer a sacrifice and present their firstborn son to the Lord—all in keeping with God’s law.
Like so many others, Simeon had waited his whole life for God to come and save Israel. One thing was unique for Simeon, though: God revealed to him that he would live to see the arrival of Israel’s long-awaited Messiah.
One day, God’s Spirit led Simeon to the temple courts and into the presence of the Holy Family. Upon seeing Jesus, Simeon immediately knew: after all the waiting, the fulfillment had come—not only for God’s people Israel, but for the Gentiles as well. Perhaps it was Mary who lifted Jesus into Simeon’s arms. Cradling the baby, he joyfully prayed:
“Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation…” —Luke 2:29-30
Light of Hope Ministry Ethiopia (LOHME) knows a thing or two about waiting. For years, teams worked diligently to translate the New Testament into the Arsi Oromo dialect. After publishing it in 2014, they began translation work on the Old Testament, too. Years later, the entire Arsi Oromo Bible was finally complete, but the pandemic and Ethiopia’s civil war caused disappointing delays in printing and shipping it. But today, LOHME is celebrating, with the communities they serve, the recent delivery of this long-awaited translation. Praise God this Christmas for bringing the gift of Gospel access—for the first time—to the world’s 10+ million Arsi Oromo people!
Jesus promised that He would return one day to restore all things. Will that be in our lifetime? We do not know. Nevertheless, we wait and prepare, so that when He does arrive we will be ready to receive Him again. Have you been waiting a long time to see a promise of God fulfilled? May God grant you the faith and patience of Simeon as you wait and hope in Him.
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