Love That Waits + Watches
Week 4: Love
Simeon and Anna might be some of my favorite humans in the Christmas story. They individually spent years waiting and watching for the Messiah, fueled by their love for God and their confidence in His promises. And when Jesus finally arrived, their joy was complete. Simeon held the child in his arms, praising God: “My eyes have seen your salvation” (Luke 2:30).
Their love shaped their waiting. Their love for God, their love for the people of God, and their love for God's promises kept them as they waited. Love kept them faithful, patient, and expectant. And when they finally encountered Jesus, their expectant love became realized devotion.
And what’s wild about the watching and waiting of Simeon and Anna is this: their love for God wasn’t the biggest confirmation. God’s love FOR THEM was confirmed in the promise that the saw come to fruition.
Let’s watch and wait, empowered by our love for God, but know in our hearts: that we can only love because He first loved us.
This week, with Christmas drawing so near, let’s reflect on how God’s love fuels our own. Love calls us to connect—with Him, with our families, and with the world around us. Are we watching and waiting for people to grow in love? Are we watching and waiting for ourselves to grow, compelled, and changed by God’s love? Are we believing, like Simeon and Anna, that this baby's birth led to our redemption and rescue? Are we watching and waiting, like Simeon and Anna, for that love to transform us?
Let’s not let this season pass without pausing to encounter Jesus's love. We don’t have to wait to know how this story ends: Jesus came, died for our sins, rose with our redemption in hand, and is coming back to reconcile and redeem it all.