Luke 2:22-40
Your Story
Talk to your children about when they joined your family. Tell them how you felt as you first met them, when the wait was finally over.
My Story and the Bible Story
One Christmas as a child, I really wanted a toy called “GoGo My Walkin’ Pup.” She walked and barked, and I desperately wanted her. So did every other child that year. My mom tried her best, but the toys were sold out everywhere she went. She had to order GoGo, and the toy didn’t come in until after Christmas. Mom had to tell me (as a 4-year-old) that I would have to wait a little longer for the Christmas present I really wanted. It was coming, but I had to wait. Finally, after what seemed like forever, my present finally came! I loved that toy. She was worth the wait!
Luke tells us the story of Simeon, a man who had waited a long time to meet the Messiah. As he waited, he trusted God. He believed it when God said that he would live to see the Messiah. But as the days and months and years went by, I am sure there were times when Simeon wondered when the Messiah would come. Then everything changed one day at the temple.
Read Luke 2:22-40.
The waiting was over! The Messiah was finally here! Simeon and Anna praised God that they were able to meet the Messiah, the promised one—Jesus. The one whom they had prayed for and hoped for and trusted in was finally with them. It took a long time for the promised Messiah to come, and there were probably times when the people struggled to understand why they had to wait.
Sometimes it feels as if we are always waiting. It can feel like we have to wait a long time for God as well. There are times when we pray and wait for an answer, and it seems as if we wait and wait and wait for God. The Israelites felt the same way. It took a long time for the Messiah to come, but Jesus came at just the right time. God’s timing is perfect. God always comes through. God always answers us and always listens to us. God knows exactly what we need and when we need it. At just the right time, God gives it to us. The people waited a long time for the Messiah, but now the waiting is over! The Messiah is here!
Discussion and Prayer
1. Ask your children to name some things for which they are waiting. Talk about good things they can do during that time of waiting.
2. As a family, share ways that you are waiting on God. Are there things you have prayed for and are now waiting for?
3. Talk about some of the people in the Bible who had to wait a long time for God’s promises. Talk about how God always fulfills promises.
4. Pray, being thankful that God knows what we need. Ask for help in waiting on God. Offer praise that the Messiah has come!
Rev. Jessica Asbell is the Minister to Children and Families at First Baptist Roswell, where she has been serving since 2012. She has written the children’s curriculum for Smyth & Helwys’s Annual Bible Study for the books of Daniel; Ezekiel; Luke; Jonah; 1 Corinthians; 1, 2, 3 John and Jude; Colossians; The Story of Israel’s Ancestors: Living toward a Promise; and Where Faith & Family Meet: A Book of Weekly Devotions. She has also written for CBF’s Spark and Form and for Affect in CBF’s fellowship! magazine. Married to Jonathan Oravec, Jessica reads every chance she gets.
