Thoughts on Discipleship by Dr. W. A. Dillard - HTML preview

SIMEON: A MODAL FOR GOD’S PEOPLE IN EVERY GENERATION

List your top twenty heroes of the Bible. Is it difficult? There are so many! Some come readily to mind, others require some thought, and all of them have such desired qualities of life in spite of the difficulties they bore. Is ancient Simeon one of them? Probably not! If not, then think again. He is a model for us all in every generation.

Simeon was an old man as the spotlight of Holy Writ fell upon him. What that light in Lu. 2:25-34 tells all ensuing generations is:

* He was a resident of Jerusalem.

* He was just and devout.

* He patiently waited for the consolation of Israel.

* The Holy Ghost was upon him.

* He received knowledge from the Holy Ghost that he would not die until he had seen the

Lord’s Christ.

* He came by the Spirit into the Temple.

* He saw and touched Jesus.

* He announced Him as the salvation of the Lord, a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory

of Israel.

* He being fulfilled prayed to depart this world in peace.

Now, let’s dare to make a comparison of modern saints for the modal. Like him, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is old. It has trod a 2,000 year trail of hardship, persecution, and faith. And now it is largely rejected by the younger generation as pews are filled with mostly older, gray-haired folks. But notice:

* We are residents ,through promise, of New Jerusalem, the mother of us all. Gal. 4:26.

* True saints are just and devout, and will not have sin imputed to them. Rom. 4:8.

* We wait for the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. 3:5.

* The Holy Spirit is within the saved, and upon His churches. Jn. 14:17.

* Some of this generation will not taste death until they have seen Him come. Matt, 24:34

* We are brought by the Spirit into the New Testament Temple. Jn. 16:13.

* We have seen and been touched by Jesus in the Spirit by faith. Jn. 14:23.

* We proclaim Him as the only hope of salvation, the light of the world, and the glory of God.

Jn. 14:6.

* Being fulfilled, we shall indeed depart this world in peace, and our eyes shall behold him

and not another, Job 19:27.

Whether the Lord returns this year, or a later year, the time is doubtlessly close, and Simeon provides an admirable modal of life for us all who long for His coming.

FOR THOUGHT: Have you ever considered Simeon as a model for us in the present time? How does your life line up with the characteristics of Simeon? How does your church line up with those characteristics? Identify shortcomings and seek to rectify them.