When the time came for the
purification rites required by the Law of Moses, Joseph and Mary took him to
Jerusalem to present him to the Lord Luke 2: 22
Jesus
had been born in Bethlehem as prophesied and eight days later Mary and Joseph
went the five miles to the temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice in keeping
with the Law of Moses.
In the
temple they met a pair of elderly, devout people who had been waiting patiently
for the Messiah. First of all Simeon came up to them. He had been promised that
he would see the Lord’s Messiah
before he died. He rejoiced that this day had come and very accurately
prophesied to Mary that ‘This child is
destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign
that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts
will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
Mary
and Joseph marvelled at what was said but more was to come. The very elderly
Anna, a lady whose life was devoted to prayer and fasting also came up ‘at that moment’ and told anyone who
would listen that this child was the Messiah (the redemption of Jerusalem).
I love
the patient faithfulness of these two elderly people, devoted to the Lord. They
had not given up as the years passed by. They had not settled down to a
passive, inactive, elderly lifestyle. They were as fervent in their faith as
ever.
In
today’s culture, young is beautiful but the Bible is full of the very elderly
being significantly used by God; Abraham, Moses, Gideon’s parents, Zechariah
and Elizabeth. So often the elderly laid the foundation for the next generation
to build on.
As I
have written before, the elderly in the back of the church can be a huge fount
of wisdom and experience to tap into. Unfortunately they are largely
ignored as irrelevant whilst the younger generation like to learn from their
own mistakes without tapping into the wisdom that is available from those who
have gone before.
I
wonder how many others at the temple paid any attention to Simeon and Anna that
day. Despite telling anyone who would listen, were they ignored or did anyone
take note that the greatest event for the Jews and Gentiles, the Saviour of the
world had just been presented at the temple?
Many of
today’s elderly have been waiting and praying patiently for years for revival
and have lived through previous outpourings and know a thing or two about them.
Some of them may well have the promise from God that they will not die till
they see revival. They may even have a head’s up on what God is doing for any
willing to listen to them.
God
loves all generations and wants to use everyone, young and old to reach a lost
world. Crossing the generational divide is a wonderful expression of God’s heart.
As we come to the end of 2014 let us not give up on the promises of God but by faith take them into 2015, believing
that he who has promised is faithful.
