Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess.
—Hebrews 10:23
I’m fascinated with Simeon, that devout old man who had been assured he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Christ (Lk 2:25–26).
Simeon never doubted that he would witness “the consolation of Israel”—the coming of the messianic age. From early manhood to the day of gray hair and tottering step, he held resolutely to the certainty that he would see the Lord’s anointed.
That day had arrived: we meet Simeon in the temple, holding the six-week-old Jesus in his arms.
Anyone can keep hope alive if they meet nothing to chill their enthusiasm. But in Simeon’s lifetime, everything conspired to render his optimism improbable. Politically and religiously, Israel was enveloped in darkness, degradation, and despair. But Simeon stood through the storms with unconquerable hope—an old man who refused to grow old.
The day a person abandons hope
is the day they begin to grow old.