Hannah is an Old Testament Bible character who struggled daily
because she had no child. In deep sorrow she went to the Lord in prayer and
made a vow. She said if You “will give Your maidservant a male child, then I
will give him to the Lord all the days of his life…” 1 Samuel 1:11. The Lord
blessed her with the birth of Samuel.
When Hannah took young Samuel to Eli the priest she said, “Therefore I
have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” Verse
28.
Would you consider directing the life of your son this way?
Perhaps deciding when your son is born that he will be a preacher of the
gospel. From the moment of his birth you tell everyone, “My son will be a
gospel preacher.” As he grows you
continually remind him of the plan you have for him. You read the Bible to him
every day. You have him spend time with
godly men being taught the word of God. In
His teenage years you make arrangements for him to work in a church under the
guidance of godly elders and evangelists who are committed to holiness. Finally
the day comes when he is ready and he begins preaching the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Many would say a parent should never decide such a thing for
their child. “You can’t force religion on your child! This kind of decision has
to be made by the child without the influence of a parent,” they say. Yet many parents decide their child is going
to excel in school and work diligently to place them in the best schools with
the best teachers. Or parents begin at
an early age instructing their child in a sport, working with them every day,
purchasing the services of a trainer, placing them on select teams and filling
their extra time with the sport.
Why is raising a child to be a preacher of the gospel
something to be avoided? Hannah is certainly commended for her choice for
Samuel and Samuel was a great leader of God’s people.
What we need today are parents who simply decide that their
children are going to grow up to be holy and righteous. I don’t mean hoping that they will be holy
and righteous but determining from the first day that they will be holy and
righteous young men and women. That’s
what Timothy’s mother and grandmother did. Paul said to Timothy, “…from
childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise
for salvation through faith which is in Jesus Christ.” 2 Timothy 3:15.
If your child grows up to be holy and righteous, you’ll have
to be holy and righteous. You’ll need to
be spending time with spiritual activities such as worship services, both
scheduled and “extra-curricular,” Bible studies, sing praises to God, etc. You’ll be selective in who your children are
friends with. You’ll be careful about what they watch on TV and how much time
they spend on the computer playing games or FaceBooking. Sports, band, arts, and academics will not be
the major focus of their life but will take second place to spiritual
activities.
Someone might object saying that our children have to
prepare themselves for a career. Yes,
our children need to make good grades and prepare themselves for life, but that
is still secondary to their spiritual life.
Our responsibility before God is to raise spiritual children (Ephesians
6:4). By not making their spiritual life our number one priority, we neglect
our God-given responsibility as parents.
Hannah is a great example. We may not dedicate our child’s
life to God by determining he will be a preacher of the gospel, but we had
better dedicate their life to the Lord and raise them accordingly. Oh, they may
be an insurance salesman, a school teacher, a mechanic or enter some other line
of work, but primarily they will be a holy and righteous servant of the Lord
who places the Lord first, and secondarily whatever else they are in life.
Need help raising your children this way? Please contact us if you feel we can help.
