Since Hannah dedicated Samuel, we have been returning the gifts given to us by God back to Him. Hannah’s example provided us with a template for how we should view the raising of our children. Hannah was barren for many years, and upon receiving the blessing from God, all she knew to do was return Samuel to the One who had given him to her. This act of dedication became the example for us to follow.
Children are a gift from the Lord, an inheritance of His Kingdom. The word “dedication” is defined as:
- A feeling of very strong support or loyalty
- To give completely your energy and time.
The act of dedicating requires action! Dedication is a verb.
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
The action verb of dedicating is meant to create within each parent—and anyone who interacts with children—the understanding that there is no greater calling in life. Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto Me.” Even when He was tired and seeking rest, He never turned away children. As God told Jeremiah when He was calling him to be a prophet, “I knew you before you were formed in your mother’s womb.” Children are precious in the eyes of the Creator.
For so long, we have viewed children as belonging to us, rather than as being entrusted to us. As we raise children, we must grasp the same passion for child-rearing that Abraham did. God trusted Abraham to be the father of nations, and when He gifts us with children, He transfers that same level of trust to each of us. Sadly, we often fail to see it this way, but that is exactly what God intends. He trusts us.
A principle of Kingdom Education is:
The education of children and youth, if and when delegated to others by parents, must be done so with utmost care to ensure that all teachers point students to the truth of God’s Word.
(Exodus 18:21; I Samuel 1:27-28, 3:1-10)
As entrusted guides, we must realize that God designed each of our children uniquely. No two are alike. As parents, the church, and the school, we spend much of our time working to shape these image-bearers into what we desire them to be. We train them as we feel they need to be trained. But Hannah did not do that. She gave her gift back to the Lord so that He could train and call Samuel according to how He had designed him.
As we prepare the next generation, we must grasp this truth:
May our children become everything God designed them to be, not merely what we desire them to be.
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