And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon and he… was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him …, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus..., then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.
[Luke 2:25-30 KJV]

““And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem…”

There are many good brothers and sisters like Simeon. Glorious spiritual experiences have taken place in their lives, they are like one in a city, they have become saved, touched and transformed by the mighty hands of God, they are just and devout, in fact, the Holy Spirit has come upon them, BUT something deep is still lacking, "they have not SEEN a revelation of the personality of Jesus". A man can be born again, he could have received a great transformation, a change of life. Righteousness could be oozing out of him, he may even be baptized in the Holy Ghost, yet, there is something deeper in God, the revelation of Christ Himself that a man needs to see, that will catapult him to a different level of sweet relationship with God. To relate with God on an affectionate level, you must have seen Him, held Him and known Him.

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life [1John 1:1]

There are many good brothers, but they still relate with God on the basis of words like consecration, commitment and sacrifice. All the things they forgo for Christ, are like sacrifice before their eyes. When they give God things: their time, talents or their treasures, it is like a great commitment, self-denial or consecration. They feel the weight of what they are letting go, but since they are giving it to God, they succumb and still give it anyway. At times, they feel the pains of what they are surrendering to the Lord, they sing the song "I surrender all"with so much tears in their eyes and sorrow in their hearts, they feel that the demands of God are so heavy and tasking. They never sing it with exuberance and much joy as if they have found the pearl of greatest price. They do not count all their worldly treasures and gains as dung and dross because of Christ, Instead, worldly gains still mean so much to them, and when Christ demands it, their surrender is with a feeling of loss, seeing the magnitude of what they are letting go or missing. What a huge sacrifice it is before them!
For those who have seen a revelation of the personality of Christ, nothing is a sacrifice anymore. The magnitude or bigness of what they have to forego is so infinitesimal compared with the glory to receive in Christ. There is so much joy in letting things go for Christ, it is like they are freeing up so much space in themselves of the ephemerals in order that great riches of Christ can fill them in replacement. They see Christ now so clearly, there is no more ambiguity about Him. Nothing is a sacrifice anymore, in fact, everything now is like investment. Whatever they give up now is like they are investing their lives in the lucrative heavens, they are fattening their heavenly purses and heavenly bags, and they are willing to put in more over there, in preparation for when they will be home at last. When Mary broke the alabaster box and poured her all on Christ, to many good brothers and even great disciples of Christ that were watching, it was a heavy sacrifice. Some even wondered how such act of foolishness could be done! How could you pour so much on Christ like that at a go?, they questioned. To them the consecration was too great, it was a great commitment. They only saw what she lost, they did not see what she gained. If Mary had kept the alabaster ointment to perfume her body with, I am sure the perfume would have finished more than 2000 years ago, in fact it would have been forgotten. But imagine that more than 2000+ years after this incidence, the aroma of that perfume still saturates the whole world with an unending fragrance. What we thought was a sacrifice and a loss, was actually not a loss at all, it was an investment, whose dividend till today has not faded or waned a bit. Now, I am thinking, what did Mary see, that those other good disciples of Jesus never saw?, it was something deeper, it was a clear revelation of the personality of Christ that she saw that made what many termed as consecration, commitment and huge sacrifice, to be a mere ordinary way of living for her. Her whole life became a JOY to give up, because she saw HIM. There is a beauty in Christ. There is a glory beyond description that enraptures and consumes those who have seen Him. This glory becomes even more glorious and consuming the closer you come to Him. It graduates from glory to glory as we draw nearer, therefore, for those who have tasted this deep revelation of the personality of Christ, there is a longing and passion to want to experience more of Him, and they never get bored. Nothing is a sacrifice anymore, their only joy now, is to yield their all in love for the One who died for them, and anything short of that makes no sense to them at all. Simeon kept on waiting for that glorious sight, when He will see the consolation of Israel. How could he die? How can a man die without having a deep insight into the depths of grace that have been prepared for us? He could not die UNTIL he had seen The Lords Christ.

“…then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God…”

A t last Simeons life became complete, now he could die, death was now sweet and beautiful, a joy to experience because he had seen the Lords Christ. When a man suddenly sees the glories and the clear revelation of Christ, what does he do about it? When Simeon saw Christ, there was only one thing that he did, HE TOOK HIM, AND LIFTED HIM UP. Friend, the only thing I know that a man does about Jesus, is very simple, it is just to lift Him up, it is to exalt Him, it is to honour Him and show Him unto the whole world as the only Lord and Christ. It is to spread Him by your life and mouth. It is not our riches and affluence that exalt Him. When some people see you dressing gorgeously, they say “brother, I can see the glory of God in you”, but, it is not how beautifully dressed you are that shows the glory of God, it is not our possessions or the materials that exalt Him, there are countless people who have much more possessions than we do, yet, they have never met Him. It is our lives, in dwelt by the presence of Jesus, that exalts Christ.

“…Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace…”

Imagine a man whose only desire is to see God! His only reason for existence, the only reason why he is still alive and living, is to see, hold and touch Jesus. As far as Simeon was concerned, nothing else out of this world was a delight to his soul except Christ. It was his daily prayer, it was his passion, his pursuit, he was hungry and thirsty for God. As the deer panteth after the water brooks, his soul was yearning for the living waters that flow from the throne of grace for divine freshness.

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. (Psalm 42:1)

For several others, many things of the world, the desires of life, the quest for goods and gadgets, the passion for fame, name and popularity, the cares of life, the deceitfulness of riches..., those were the things that occupied their hearts and dragged them into the presence of God. Many seek God for mammon, they pray to God for the ephemerals, vigils are organized to meet fleshly needs, personal ambitions are being sought and exalted using the name of Jesus, whereas, Christ has been seriously obscured. But for Simeon, a man among men, TO HIM TO LIVE WAS CHRIST, TO DIE WAS GAIN. (Philippians 1:21). Other things did not satisfy him except Jesus. The only fellowship he was looking for, was not just the company of people, Jesus was his sweetest name, he could not die without Christ, he sought Him daily, just to behold His glory. Eventually, when he found Him, the only thing he did with Jesus, is just to exalt and lift Him up for the world to see. Simeon was not seeking Jesus for what he would get from Him, he was seeking Him for HIM. He was not concerned about the goods and things and benefits he would receive from Him his passion was not for the miracles that He will do if He comes, he was simply satisfied with Jesus alone, he was complete in Christ. With Jesus alone, his soul was satisfied, he loved Him...

“…lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,…for mine eyes have seen…”

How could dying and leaving this world completely be more desirable than being alive except a man has seen something higher and greater than the greatest the world has to offer? How can a man be so dissatisfied with even the costliest grandeur of this world, with no appetite for its sweetest offer? It must be that there is something richer and greater, whose sweetness far outweighs the best of earth, of which his lips have tasted, and he cannot afford to lose.
Simeon said, "my eyes have seen something, it is the salvation of The Lord, oh!, I can see the beauty of His majesty, I can see Gods love so pure, oh joy, oh delight, oh glory!, shall we go without dying…!!!" The reason why we are so tied to the world and her system, why the world looks so beautiful and we would rather spend to pursue and grab more of her offers, is because our eyes have not seen something deeper and sweeter, so we simply cling to the best we know.
There is something about the world, its systems and its goods that we have seen, it is so engrossing that we cannot let it go, it is so desirable, so tantalizing, adorable, admirable, and inviting that nothing compares with it in our eyes..., that is why we would rather cling to it endlessly, BUT, there is also something about the heavenly glories that we have NOT SEEN, that is why we are so sluggish and uninterested in running for it. The glory of the world is so shinning, it has blinded our eyes from seeing the transient and corruptible nature of it. It takes only those that HAVE SEEN CLEARLY to notice its feebleness, something that never lasts. Simeon saw the GLORIES of the world (shining), he also saw the NATURE of the world (transient), THEN, God opened his eyes further and he saw the GLORIES OF JESUS (BEAUTY) and the NATURE thereof (eternal, incorruptible, made by God), and by easy comparison, the former is nothing compared to the latter. The divine glory he saw overwhelmed his taste and reduced the greatest that earth has to offer into mere garbage. Unless a man sees clearly and properly, he can never live properly, he will always run for the little that he has seen, believing that is all he can get. Simeon wished to die, he was ready to go, and that would not be a loss unto Him in any way, in fact, he saw it as a great gain. Being cumbered with the world and amassing its goods to him was a waste of life. Spending time to pursue the world degrees, certificates to him, was simply to waste the time.
When you see a man who has seen clearly the nature of the world, who has both seen total completeness and satisfaction in Jesus, and has been ravished with the beauty of Christ, you will find a man, whose prayer point is “To me to live is Christ, to die is gain...”

If Jesus is taken away from you, will you shake? Are you filled with so many things of which Jesus forms only a segmented part? Are you a Samson who did not even know that God had left him, but could still go about and try some gymnastics? Where did Samson get strength to even get up, when God, who ought to be his strength had suddenly departed from him? Has Jesus suddenly become mechanical to you, a tool you use or a pill you take when in need? Is He your all in all? Friend, what is more interesting to you now? Is Paris more beautiful now than Jesus? Is honey sweeter on your lips now than Jesus? Are shoe and clothes more desired now than Christ? Are you more at home with friends and colleagues than staying in the bosom of Jesus? Is the TV more entertaining now than Jesus? Is it not because you have left the pursuit of divine riches in heaven for the worldly riches that will fade away that you have become bankrupt and poor? Do you not know that a man void of the fullness of Christ is an empty man, no matter what garbage he may be struggling with?

Open my eyes, oh Lord that I may see!