Future in the present

I'm reading the last chapter of our Sunday school curriculum for Advent. I was interested in this sentence:

Hope becomes credible when it see the future in the present.

I thought this sentence was wise as well as true.

The author explains that Simeon, when he saw our salvation in a 40 day old baby, was seeing the future in the present. He would never see the young man preaching in the temple, the water turned into wine, the other miracles, the crucifixion or resurrection. And yet, in the present -- the baby in front of him -- Simeon sees the future.

Do we do that? I think we do. We look at our children and see who they might become. We see the men and women who will grow from these immature creatures who leave clothes on the floor and track dirt through the house.

Do we do it with our faith? Do we see a tiny ministry in our church and see what it could become? Do we look at the youth in our UMYF programs, and see future lay leaders? Future Sunday school teachers? Do we see insumountable problems and see their solution in God?

Do we have that kind of hope? Do we see the future in the present?

Image: Morning sky at the VA