The Listening Servant

Elkanah and Hannah wanted a child desperately, but could not conceive. They prayed and begged God to bless them with a child promising that, once the child was weaned, he would be taken to the Temple and given back to God as a gift. God honored their prayer and their first son, Samuel was born. As promised, when he was very small, he was surrendered to Eli, the Priest, to be his student and servant in the house of God and, according to 1 Samuel 2:21, “the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the Lord.”

Nine or ten years later, Samuel is awakened several times in the night by a voice calling out his name. Assuming it was Eli, he ran to his side to see what he needed, only to be sent away because it was not Eli’s voice. At first, neither Eli nor Samuel recognized the voice of the Lord. Eli had pushed God aside because he didn’t like God’s demands. He closed his eyes to sin rather than to stand with God and stand against sin.

Samuel did not recognize the voice of God because, according to 1 Samuel 3:7, he “did not yet know the Lord.” How can a child grow up in the presence of God and yet not know Him or recognize his voice?

From the story of Samuel we learn that knowing the laws of God and obeying them, based on ritual rather than relationship will not draw our children to Him. Acts of kindness and service, even in the church will not create unity with God. We can see that, in the case of Samuel, a child’s eyes are fixed on the one who is raising them and that is the primary shaping factor in the spiritual life of a child. If you want to do a better job of introducing your child to God, this is what your child needs…

…parents who love Jesus enough to turn their back on anything that leads them away from Him

…parents who make mistakes and humbly repent to God and family

…parents who value quiet time with God

…parents who fail to get their priorities right and acknowledge and correct them

…parents who read the Bible and teach it’s precepts to their children

…parents who, early on, teach their children to listen and obey

…parents who can show grace to an errant child because God has shown grace to them

…parents who are humble enough to know that they need God’s help to raise a family

…parents who have godly friends who will be a positive influence in the lives of their kids

…parents who see that they are called to a mission that is bigger than themselves

…parents who have found joy in following God – both in the valleys and on the mountain tops

You can buy your kids a Bible, take them to church most every Sunday and visit every VBS that is offered within a 15 mile radius of your home. You can purchase every Veggie Tale movie ever made and say a prayer before meals and at bedtime. Yet, it is possible that your children will grow up, like Samuel, not recognizing God if you have not shown them what it looks like to listen and obey Him. Is it time to tune your ear to what God wants to do in your home? Say with Samuel, “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10), then follow through with what He is asking you to do!