Living in the grace of God

​1-3-22
Living in the grace of God.
As we approach Epiphany and the end of the Christmas season, we continue to look at those mentioned in the Christmas account by Saint Luke. Today we look at Luke 2:25, "Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him."
We don't know much about Simeon except that he is righteous and devout and that the Holy Spirit was upon him. We also know he was waiting for the Messiah, but that is all we know about him.
He is just another person that God describes almost entirely by character. Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph himself, and Anna, the older woman who welcomed Jesus at the temple. All we know is that they were believers. They were faithful—people who loved God—people waiting for Jesus to come.
And this gives us a good idea of what God is looking for in our own lives, too. He isn't much interested in whether we're rich or powerful, whether we have no children or many children, whether we are well-known or pretty much unknown.
The good news for us is that the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit who was upon Simeon that day is willing and happy to work in our hearts as well. We don't have to turn ourselves into saints to please God. Jesus has already taken care of that through His death and resurrection. Now the Holy Spirit works in us in our everyday lives as we do ordinary things. He will give us trust in Jesus. He will make us people who love and rejoice in our Savior.
Please pray with me the prayer for today; Dear Holy Spirit, work in my heart and make me the kind of person You want me to be. Amen.