By Lisa Wilmore
Scripture Reading: There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him (Luke 2:36-39).
My Christian Friends,
The questions in this message to ponder is “What does it mean to serve God with total devotion?” Luke writes about a woman named, Anna,who is a picture of what it means to serve God with total devotion.
As we read many accounts throughout the Bible, we can reference individuals who were totally devoted to God. For instance, the Apostle Paul is one whom we can say that once God changed him, he was devoted to doing what God had called him to do. Paul committed himself to “preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ” to those who did not know Jesus. He records in his letter to the Romans, “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone’s foundation” (Romans 15:20). Therefore, Paul’s devotion and commitment to preaching the Good News is one that is notable and extraordinary.
In addition to Paul’s commitment to the God’s call, we can view Anna, the prophetess, as one who was totally devoted to God as mentioned in our aforementioned text. In our Scriptural reading for this message, it is clear that Anna was devoted to God. She never left the temple once she became a widow. Instead, she “worshipped night and day-fasting and praying.” She served God totally!
Anna was positioned at the Temple when Joseph and Mary brought a sacrifice to the Lord after Mary’s forty days of purification, which is done to adhere to the Mosaic Law (Luke 2:23-24). Anna was of age and was among one of the first to see the Messiah. She expected to see Messiah and because of her devotion to God, she met our Savior. She thanked God and shared with others “who were looking forward to the redemption in Jerusalem”.
