Fifty-Five Words

SCRIPTURE: Luke 2:36-37 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

OBSERVATION: Anna was honored by the Lord, as was Simeon, to be among the first to see and recognize Jesus as the Messiah. She is like a dear family friend that comes to the maternity room to see the new baby while the new mom and dad burst with pride. You get the sense that God Himself is bursting with pride as he shows off this new Baby, the salvation of the world, to Anna, His close family friend.
Anna was honored by the Lord because of her life of simple devotion. She never started a church. She never wrote a book. She never had a television ministry, but she lived a devoted life of service. She was the real deal. She didn't serve God to get something else. She just served God.
She had been widowed at a very early age, after only seven years of married life. She could have become bitter with God, "Why did you let this happen to me?!" But she didn't. She could have made a deal with God, "I'll fast and pray in the temple if you bring me a new husband soon." But she didn't. She fasted. She prayed. Not as a manipulation or as a means to an end. She did it just to serve God.
Eighty-four years is a long time. This was no short term service. This was a life-time commitment.
This woman, Anna, was a hero (heroine) of God in the fullest sense of the word. But she doesn't fit the typical stereotype. She was a woman, not a man. Women are honored by God and can be heroes (or heroines). She was elderly. Too often today elderly people are seen as 'out of date.' God doesn't think so. He honors this elderly woman of God (who was still going strong, by the way).
She was a prophetess. Can this even happen? Can a woman be a prophet, a spiritual leader and authority, one who speaks forth the words of God on God's behalf for others, even men (see the story of Paul and Phillip's daughters) to hear? Maybe God's theology is a little off here. No, it's not.
She fasted and she prayed. That's it. That's her resume. To God, that is a very impressive resume. And she did it night and day.

APPLICATION: This is a wonderful and a challenging passage of scripture about Anna. She causes me to rethink assumptions of my life:

• What is a spiritual hero? Is my idea of a spiritual hero someone like Anna? Do I walk by and overlook spiritual heroes all the time because I have a faulty idea of what one may look like? Do I get so caught up on performance and accomplishment that I neglect things of greater spiritual weight, like fasting and prayer? It is very easy to do.
• What is my spiritual resume? My intention here is not to get into a resume-based relationship with God, but simply to ask the question, "How would my life be described?" This passage starts out, "Now there was one Anna..." Then fifty-five words describe this woman. The key features were included. What if this passage started, "Now there was one Jim..." How would the next fifty-five words go? How would I want them to go? If there is a difference, what am I going to do about it?
  

PRAYER: Lord, thank You for this challenge from Anna today. She teaches me about the importance of a simple life of devotion. Make the fifty-five words of my life really count for You. Amen.