PDF file - Bible Teaching Resources

COACH’SCLIPBOARDby Don AndersonA Gift Too Wonderful for WordsMary and Joseph journeyed to Jerusalem. As the curtainopens on the scene, we met a beautiful old man. Scripturetells us that “there was a man in Jerusalem whose namewas Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout,looking for the consolation of Israel; and the Holy Spiritwas upon him” (Luke 2:25). Immediately, we know fourthings about this elderly gentleman.First, Simeon was “righteous.” He desired to seegoodness and holiness enacted in his life. Such peopleare given a wonderful promise in Matthew 5:6, whereChrist says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst forrighteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (NASB). AndSimeon was satisfied whenhe, at long last, was given aglimpse of the Savior.We also know that Simeonwas “devout.” The worddevout, in this usage, indicatesan anxiety to do well. Itmeans “to take hold of withreverence.” It is an attitude ofthe heart. Man looks on theoutward appearance and judges another as righteous byhis actions; only God can look upon the heart and know ifone is truly devout, as was Simeon.This old man also constantly looked for something:“the consolation of Israel.” When things get bad for us,we often say, “Well, at least we have one consolation….”Israel, in Simeon’s day, was under Roman domination.The single consolation to which the nation could cling wasthe promise of God that the Messiah would come. He wastheir last hope, and Simeon probably spent many a nighton his knees praying for the arrival of this King.We also read of Simeon that “the Holy Sprit was uponhim.” The Bible never minces words. The Holy Spiritwas not in Simeon because the Spirit had not yet cometo indwell believers. It would be 33 years later whenChrist, in the upper room, would promise His disciplesthat God’s Spirit would live within them (see John 14:17).Simeon simply experienced the Holy Spirit’s presenceupon him so that he might perform special service. Hewas a man who walked with God, and God used him. TheHoly Spirit was with him temporarily.Simeon was a classic example of a man who had notbecome bitter with age, but better. Some of us do not growold so sweetly. We find old age the height of frustration.Why? It’s because we cannot perform as we once did.The old body just isn’t what it used to be. We tire moreeasily; the ticker skips a beat or two; the eyes don’t allowus to read everything we want. We indulge in self-pity,becoming cranky, cantankerous, critical, and just plaintough to live with.Psychiatrist and theologian Paul Tournier writes ofgrowing old in his 1963 text, Season of Life:The die is cast. That which I have been able to do, to learn, or toacquire is gradually losing its value. The doing and the havingare giving way to the being. What is important for the agedis not what they are still ableto do, nor yet what they haveaccumulated and cannot takewith them. It is what they are.(Tournier 54-55){ }The more we get to knowthe Lord, the more we’regoing to love Him.The era for Geritol andpacemakers is also the timewhen, as Tournier suggests,what we are becomes farmore important than what we are able to do. God designsour bodies to slow down in old age, so that He can refinethe being, rather than the doing, in our lives. Recognizingand accepting that truth is how we become better withage. Simeon had learned the priceless lesson that what aman is vastly outweighs what a man does in the eternalscheme of things. With the Holy Spirit upon him, he wasrighteous, devout, ever looking for the consolation ofIsrael.And God made him a marvelous promise. Luke 2:26says of Simeon, “And it had been revealed to him by theHoly Spirit that he would not see death before he hadseen the Lord’s Christ.” Through faith, Simeon knewthat before he died, he would gaze upon the face of theMessiah, the consolation of Israel.Like Simeon, the more we get to know the Lord, themore we’re going to love Him, and the more He’s goingto share with us the secrets of His heart. Part of spiritualgrowth involves the sheer joy of having the Lord imparttruth to us as we spend time with Him in prayer andin the reading of His word. It is a delight to partake ofprecious, secret, special thoughts offered us as we growcloser to Him. As Proverbs 3:32 states, “For the crookedcontinued on page 18Bible Teaching Resources