Being Known

 

Daily Gratitude Year Eleven-Day 360- Today, I am grateful to be known.

There is something very honoring about being "known." We have a whole culture striving to be famous, looking for "likes" or "shares," but they long for deep, real, and abiding friends. Celebrities often express a sense of loneliness. They are often surrounded by many willing to do their bidding. They struggle to find real connections and honest relationships. 

Jesus was taken to the temple, as is the custom, and encountered Simeon and the Prophetess, Anna.  Simeon had been promised by God that he would see the Messiah before he died. 

''In Jerusalem at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in the prayerful expectancy of help for Israel. And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the Temple. As the parents of the child Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the Law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God:

God, you can now release your servant;
    release me in peace as you promised.
With my own eyes I’ve seen your salvation;
    it’s now out in the open for everyone to see:
A God-revealing light to the non-Jewish nations,
    and of glory for your people Israel.
Jesus’ father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words." -Luke 2:25-33 

Simeon had waited a lifetime to lay eyes on the Messiah. The Spirit revealed to him the identity of the child. His delight is captured in the passage. For Joseph and Mary, it was another affirmation of the truth they were carrying in their arms. 

Being known by a God who loves us enough to die for us is pretty special. 

Today, I am grateful to be known.