The new iPhone 5 from Apple is due out this month, and as this is the first iPhone release since Steve Jobs’ passing, the pressure on Apple is huge. The redesign, under the direction of Senior Vice President of Design, Jony Ive, is the first complete redesign of the iPhone in 3 years. Bloggers and journalists are reporting a longer body and screen, a new 8-pin connector, and 4G LTE compatibility. Apple has announced a media event for Sept. 12 and it is expected that the iPhone 5 will be announced, with a release on Sept. 21. I for one can’t wait, and I’m not alone.
While I confess to reading TUAW and MacLife more than once a week, I also try to read the Bible every day. It reminds me of who God is, who I am in God’s kingdom, and what my priorities should be. The other day as I read, God reminded me of what I should truly be looking forward to in anticipation.
Luke 2 introduces Simeon, a regular guy who loved God. He was righteous and faithful and filled with the Holy Spirit. He longed for the restoration of God’s people, and the Holy Spirit promised him that in his lifetime he would get to meet the catalyst of that restoration, the Christ.
One day the Holy Spirit prompts Simeon to head to the temple, where he meets a young family. He immediately knows that this little kid is the Savior and his heart is full and complete. He literally tells God that he is ready to die now because this promise has been fulfilled and hope has finally come. Then he blesses them and whispers a prophecy to mom about the explosive, divisive future of her little boy.
Simeon had a longing in his soul planted by God, and he spent his life waiting for that one moment. Looking. Listening. Watching. Waiting. I’m sure he looked for the signs of the coming Christ and imagined what life would be like after the Savior came. And when that moment came, he was ready. He engaged. He played the role that God had for him. And he was satisfied and grateful.
Our consumeristic and disposable culture feeds on dissatisfaction and anticipation. We are conditioned to long for the next electronic device and we research and obsess over new products. I have learned to embrace this well. But Simeon reminds us of what we should most desire. His new iPhone was the Savior of the world. Literally.
I am convicted to ask the deeper questions, and sense that Simeon would invite us to join him.
What longing has God placed in your heart? What burns inside your soul that only God can architect? What are you waiting for, looking for, researching, hoping for? How do you long to see God’s kingdom break forth and what role has he invited you to play in it?
It is in the answers to these questions that we find our purpose, passion and satisfaction. We can learn from Simeon by placing our hope and anticipation in the things of God’s kingdom.
May God’s kingdom come. And may we be ready.