For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” 1 Samuel 1:27-28 (ESV)
Do you remember the story of Hannah in the Bible? Hannah was married to Elkanah who had two wives. His first wife had multiple children but Hannah had none after years of marriage. During that time in history, it was imperative for women to marry and to give birth otherwise, due to social stigma, they would be looked down upon as being less than other women. In her grief, Hannah prayed and cried out to God for a child. She vowed to God that if He gave her a child, she would dedicate the child back to God to be raised as a priest. God answered her prayer and after some time she gave him to Eli, the head priest at that time, to be raised in service to the temple. The main thought of this story I wanted to bring out is how Hannah truly dedicated her son to the Lord and that as parents, we too need to do the very same.
In today’s societies, for the most part, parents would not physically give their children away to be raised by another. But the same principle of dedicating our children to God should still apply. From Bible times to now, parents have been dedicating their children to God through baby blessings, baptisms, etc. Not only are they seeking to dedicate their children but, they are seeking to dedicate themselves by committing to raise them with Godly precepts and principles.
As our children grow to adulthood and make their own choices, if we did our best in bestowing God’s truth during their formative years, we can feel confident of the Godly foundation we poured into them. We can feel truly blessed to know we were partners with God in raising His children. In addition, we can rest assured that whatever path/direction God chooses to use our children, it will be for the building up of His Kingdom.
Blessings,
Angélique
To contact: Angelique@21stcenturygodlyliving.com