Not only when Hannah was able to bring Samuel to the tabernacle did she fulfill her vow to dedicate her child to the LORD. Even as reason dawned in the child's mind, it taught him to love and worship God and to regard himself as God's property. She used every familiar object around him to direct his thoughts to the Creator.

A Mother's Inspirational Faith

Even when she separated from her child, the faithful mother did not stop worrying about him. He was the subject of her prayers. Every year she made a coat for him. When she came to the annual sacrifice with her husband, she gave it to the child as a token of her love. Every movement of her hand in making the cloak, every thread, she tied to a prayer that her son would be pure, noble and faithful. She did not ask that he be a great man, but a good one—and her faith and devotion were rewarded: she saw her son simply love and fear God from an early age. She saw him grow into a man and be pleasing to God and man. In the service of his divine Master he was humble, reverent, dutiful and devoted. The Lord accepted the precious sacrifice from that mother's hands and did not forget to reward her for her sacrifice. Hannah was blessed with more children to raise and train for heaven.

Blossoming despite bad influences

Samuel spent his youth in the tabernacle, solemnly devoted to the service of God. But even here he was not without evil influences or sinful examples. Eli's sons are referred to in the Holy Word as "sons of Belial" (1 Samuel 2,12:XNUMX SLT). They neither feared God nor honored their father; Samuel, on the other hand, neither sought their company nor followed their wicked ways. He was constantly striving to make himself what God had planned for him. All young people have this opportunity. God rejoices in little children who place themselves in his service; one can only encourage their efforts to become Christians.

Young people don't become weak-willed or less productive because they put themselves in God's service. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 9,10:XNUMX). The smallest child, when he loves and fears him, is greater in the sight of God than the most talented and learned man who denies great salvation. Young people who give their hearts and lives to God live at the source of all wisdom and receive the strength for excellence.

How inconspicuous everyday routine becomes attractive

Being brought to the tabernacle at a very early age, Samuel was given small duties of service to God according to his abilities. These were initially very inconspicuous and not always pleasant. But he complied as best he could and most willingly. His faith manifested itself everywhere in everyday life. He saw himself as God's servant and his work as God's work. His efforts succeeded because they were motivated by love for God and a sincere desire to do His will. So Samuel became a co-worker with the LORD, the King of heaven and earth. Yes, God did a truly great work for Israel through him.

If children were taught that their Lord's ordained path in life is the unassuming routine of everyday life—the school that trains them to serve diligently and effectively—how much more enjoyable and honorable their work would seem. When you do every job for the Lord, even the most inconspicuous occupation becomes attractive. Then there is a connection between the workers on earth and the holy beings doing God's will in heaven. In the place allotted to us, we can fulfill our tasks just as faithfully as the angels in their higher spheres. All who believe that they are God's servants become people who can be trusted anywhere. Heavenly citizens are the best earthlings. Anyone who correctly understands his responsibility before God also clearly recognizes his responsibility towards his fellow human beings.

What is the best parenting?

The best parenting is that in which parents help their children love and fear God. She makes them realize that they are the younger members of the Lord's great family. She conveys to them that God entrusted them to their parents to bring them up and prepare them for heaven, and that one day he will require them back out of their hands. She teaches the children that every action in life is important. It strengthens habits and builds character. If all daily tasks are performed with fear of God, then they will be performed conscientiously and the life story need not fear severe judgement.

The world needs mothering

If only every mother would recognize how great her task and her responsibility is, yes, how great the reward for her loyalty. A mother's daily influence over her children prepares them for eternal life or death. She has an impact at home greater than that of the minister in the pulpit and even the king on his throne. Judgment Day will show how much this world owes to godly mothers whose children became staunch advocates of truth and reform—people who braved and braved hardship and temptation; People for whom the high and holy values ​​of truth and divine glory were more important than worldly honor or life itself.

When the judgment is in session and the books are opened; when the great judge's 'well done' is proclaimed and the crown of undying splendor is pressed upon the victor's forehead, many will set down their crowns before the assembled universe and point to their mother and say, 'She made of me all that I am today by the grace of God. Their guidance, their prayers have been a blessing to me for my eternal salvation.

Samuel really grew into a great man. For God judges character.

Were they really great men?

Many are considered great men before the world, but they fall short of divine standards. They lack exactly the elements that make up true and noble masculinity. Men of incredible wits and brilliant spirits, men whom the world willingly adores, have placed these precious gifts of God in the Arch Deceiver's service.

Lord Byron

Byron has made a name for himself in the world of literature. God gave him natural abilities. Had they been directed properly, it could have been a boon to society. But he did not consecrate his talents to God. His life was not saturated with the purity of heaven, his literary works do not breathe it. Many of his works lead to immorality and unbelief. They reveal the true character of this man - a spoiled taste and a depraved heart. He rejected the service of God and chose association with Satan.

Edward gibbon

Even the famous historian Gibbon was not a great man in God's eyes. It is true that he had endowed him with great intelligence so that he could bring knowledge of God to his fellow men. But Satan set his traps for this man and he got caught in the web of skepticism. His works are full of allusions against God and against the Redeemer of the world. He took every opportunity to destroy trust in the Bible and the Christian faith. Only eternity will show how much damage he has caused through his writings. The world calls Gibbon a literary hero. God calls it a failure.

Intelligence can be a blessing or a curse

It is a benevolent Creator who endows human beings with the intellectual faculties to serve Him and work with Jesus and the angels in the salvation of mankind. Yet how many, like Byron and Gibbon, use their talents to pervert simple truth, to ridicule the Christian faith, and to claim that it is unworthy of the attention of rational beings. Anyone who takes part in this hardly knows what they are doing. But on the awful day of judgment he will be held accountable.

When intelligence struggles against the principles of true faith, it serves vice, distorting the image of God in man and bringing him down to the animal level. Anything that drives God's thoughts out of the heart becomes a curse not only for oneself but for all who are in one's sphere of influence. It would be better for the gifted skeptic, and for the world as well, if he lacked the brilliant talents he has placed in Satan's service. The greater the twisted and misused gift, the more damage will be done and the greater the damnation on the day of final reckoning.

virtue and vice, light and darkness

Though many have their faithful followers, humans serve only one of two lords: the prince of light or the prince of darkness. Samuel served the first, Eli's sons the second. Their characters are starkly contrasted and represent the two great factions into which the world has been divided since the fall of Adam: the servants of the Anointed and the servants of Satan. God arranged everything so that the happiness of families, nations, and even individuals depends on virtue. Vice, on the other hand, is the root of all suffering and misery. In the history of nations to this day there is unity, peace and prosperity where justice is respected, but weakness, degeneration and corruption where greed, selfishness and unbelief reign.

A constant war rages between vice and virtue. Wherever you turn, the battle continues without a break. Immorality rears its ugly head, its triumph is hailed, and crimes of all degrees pour in from all sides. Youth are being swept away in droves by the tsunami of evil. In the heart of every sincere Christian the question grows: "How is it possible that in a country of the Bible and Christian doctrine the enemy of souls has such a massive and blind grip on our young people?" The reason for this is obvious. The parents no longer fulfill their solemn task. They are not sincere, persevering, and devoted to their cause, and they no longer raise their children for God by curbing their evil desires and asserting themselves as parents. Yes, the problem starts with young children.

When can young men learn to stand firm and maintain their integrity in the midst of pervasive injustice? When can they learn to do everything in their power to stop the spread of vice and promote virtue, purity, and true manhood? The early impressions are deep and lasting. Unreasonable training or bad company often has a disastrous effect on young people, whom all efforts cannot quench.

Napoleon Bonaparte

The character of Napoleon Bonaparte was strongly influenced by his upbringing. Unwise educators inspired him for conquests, they imitated the battle of armies in games and made him their commander. Here the basis for his combative and bloody career was laid. Had the same effort been made to make him a good man by filling his young heart with the spirit of the gospel, how different his life would have been.

David Hume

Hume is said to have been a skeptic who faithfully believed God's Word in his early life. As a member of a debating club, he was given the task of making arguments for unbelief. He prepared himself intensively and perseveringly for it. In doing so, his astute and active mind became saturated with the refined arguments of skepticism. It wasn't long before he believed his deceptive teachings, and the darkness of unbelief never left his life.

Voltaire

When Voltaire was five years old, he memorized a poem critical of religion. It was indelibly imprinted on him. He became one of Satan's most successful agents in leading people away from God. Thousands will stand up in judgment and blame the incredulous Voltaire for the downfall of their souls.

We face a choice

Every young person's course in life is determined by the thoughts and feelings they harbor in their early years. Correct, virtuous, manly habits acquired in early years become part of character and usually determine one's personal future. The young man can become vicious or virtuous. It's his choice! He may be distinguished by faithful and noble deeds, or by heinous crimes and wickedness.

Today's young men can be as valuable in the sight of the Lord as Samuel was. Her name can be written in the book of life, so that the monarch of the universe and the host of angels look on with joy. By maintaining their Christian integrity, young people like the noble Luther can have a tremendous Reformation influence. Such men are needed today. God has a place and a purpose for each one of them.

Every young person can become an angel of mercy

If the young men of our cities would join their efforts in condemning ungodliness and crime, their influence would greatly advance the cause of reform. Every young person can and must serve as an angel of mercy to needy and suffering humanity. There is no class of people that can bring about greater results for God and mankind than youth.

Reason to be ashamed or to thank?

Let no one think that the faith of the Bible is feeble and unmanly, the result of fanatical zeal or superstitious fear. Many young people do not enter into the service of the Messiah because they are not ready to profess their Christianity in front of the world. They are ashamed of Jesus and that they recognize and respect his authority. Such persons look at religion from the worldly point of view. Thousands have fallen to pieces on this rock.

God is the king of the universe. How can one be ashamed to acknowledge and be faithful to Him? The holy angels serve him day and night. The highest beings in the universe bow before God's throne with joyful songs of thanksgiving and praise. Is there anything in such service that could degrade man? The LORD says: "Whoever honors me I will honor again." (1 Samuel 2,30:XNUMX) Serving God is the highest, most noble work in which people or angels can contribute with their abilities.

Signs of the Times, 3. November 1881