The Glorious One

Christmas has now passed, and it can feel like, “well, is Advent over?”

One of the beauties of following Christ is that holidays don’t change the truth of God. These holidays simply remind us, perhaps, of what we have forgotten, what we need to remember, and what a renewal of our hope looks like. Advent itself means “coming” or “arrival,” and that is what we put our faith in as the body of Christ: we are deeply grateful that He came once and deeply hopeful that He will come again. But while we wait, we praise and hold on to the promises of God. Let’s examine one specific praise as an example:

Now, Master, you can dismiss your servant in peace, as you promised. For my eyes have seen your salvation. You have prepared it in the presence of all peoples—a light for revelation to the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel.
—Luke 2:29–32

This was Simeon’s prayer after he met the baby Jesus in the temple in Jerusalem. Not adult-miracle-working Jesus, not preteen-teaching-in-the-temple Jesus, and not any of the other unrecorded years of Jesus’s life. Simeon, and later in the book of Luke, Anna, praise God for the birth of Jesus. Not because of anything Jesus had done yet but because He was a promise fulfilled.

In the very next chapter of Luke, we find God delighting in the person of Jesus.

And the Holy Spirit descended on him in a physical appearance like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well-pleased.” 
—Luke 3:22

We can sometimes miss who Jesus is by focusing on what He does. He certainly did and continues to do a lot for us. Honestly, the list is endless. But just the fact that He came to be with us is enough. The fact that He came is worthy of praise.

And this is what we don’t want to miss. Jesus’s very presence with you right now is a promise fulfilled (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus’s salvation for you is a promise fulfilled (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus bringing light to the darkness of the world through you is a promise fulfilled (Matthew 5:14). Even in the land of darkness, even on your most mundane day, even on your worst day, even on your most doubt-filled day, even after Christmas—He is the one who has provided you with the great light, right here. By being a great light of revelation to the Gentiles and in the land of darkness. By being the glorious One who came to be God with you and me.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; a light has dawned on those living in the land of darkness.
—Isaiah 9:2

And that is the God who is worthy of all praise. Simeon knew this and we, the body of Christ, know this well, too.