MONDAY September 17, 2018
Lent to the Lord
“Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord; as long as he lives he shall be lent to the Lord.” So they worshiped the Lord there.
1 Samuel 1:28
In his leadership as a father, Elkanah recognized that God was at work. He was in complete unity with Hannah and in agreement that, after Samuel was weaned, he should be given back to the Lord. Hannah kept her word––a vow of consecration. She did not covet Samuel for herself, but she gave him back, not for two or three years, but for his entire life.
Hannah had brought the sacrifices of consecration to the temple. God had loaned Samuel to her, and now she loaned him back. Do you know what the word lent means? The word lent means to “to return or dedicate,” literally translated, “to make him owe to.” The idea is a complete, irrevocable giving up of the child to the Lord. Samuel belonged to God––he was to be all His.
Understand, our children are on loan to us as a gift from the Lord. Parents have a great responsibility to train up a child in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6). If you are a leader involved in the Church, and you are failing to train up your children in the ways of the Lord, then you have no business being in full-time ministry. Billy Sunday preached the Gospel to thousands, and yet his sons became alcoholics and died alcoholics.
Some leaders today are trying to do ministry without fulfilling their God- given ministry at home. You can get involved in a ministry, but is it blessed by God if you are neglecting your home? If God has called you into the ministry, there is a balance. Take heed to the Scriptures in your responsibility to train your children. Be flexible in your schedule, because your children will not always stay little. They will grow up to be teenagers.
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
~Psalm 127:3~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit Somebodylovesyouradio.org!
