Worth Looking Forward To

What do you look forward to? A vacation? A new job? Then end of your school career? Marriage? Kids? My baby turned seven a month ago. However, I've got several sisters with babies under one. And they are consistently telling me that they are looking forward to big kids. I remember those days! And having big kids is worth looking forward to! They communicate. They can dress and bathe and toilet themselves. They can help with household chores. And they can still refresh your wonder at this amazing world that God has entrusted to us, because there is still so much that they don't know!

As I was typing this, I was reminded of a sermon I heard a few years ago on this text:

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
Luke 2:25-26

Simeon was looking forward to meeting the Messiah. During the sermon, the pastor posed the question, "What have you been waiting for? What have you set your hope on?" Or we could phrase it, 'What are you looking forward to?' That day, during the sermon, I was convicted that I had set my hope on our vacation-- and it turned out to be one of the worst (in my opinion) that I'd ever had. The pastor went on to say that NOTHING is worthy of our hope except Christ. Ultimately, if our hope is set on anything but Him, we will be disappointed. But Christ IS WORTHY! Our future with Christ is worth looking forward to! Infinitely more so than any other good thing, because He is the source of everything! And that's good news!

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land. In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
Psalms 37:7-11
 
On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined. And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken. It will be said on that day, "Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the LORD; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation."
Isaiah 25:6-9