A mother’s (costly) decision for her son…

As Mothers’ Day comes around again, it’s good for us to reflect on the story of Hannah, found in 1 Samuel 1:1-28.

Faced with the difficulty of being the second of the two wives of her husband Elkanah (hardly a good situation to be in!) as well as not being able to conceive, this was probably enough for any young woman to either complain bitterly about her circumstances or at least seek the nearest exit from them. But when God granted her prayer and blessed her with a son, Samuel, her life took upon a whole new dimension.

Having desperately prayed for a son, and then being granted that privilege, what would she do with him? And what would she want for him? Maybe lots of options were available to him – including the possibilities of him growing up to be rich or popular, educated or powerful. What would she choose?

The answer is seen in the promise that she made in verse 11, “I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life”, which reaches its fulfillment in verse 28, “Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And that’s what she did. She gave Samuel to the Lord that he might serve Him.

Parents, what do you want for your children? Are you willing to make the hard sacrifices in terms of this world in order to ensure that your children end up serving the Lord? It will cost you. It doesn’t mean that you must send your children away to for rigorous learning and training from infancy like Samuel, but it will mean that your lifestyle will come under scrutiny. Serving the Lord is not just taught, it is also caught.

It will also be costly in terms of time, because if serving the Lord is your aim for your children, then surely prayer must be one of the keys that opens doors in that direction. And because prayer takes time and effort, it will be costly to you. You will have to let go hopes and dreams that junior will turn out to meet your expectations – none of that will matter as much as whether or not your child serves the Lord.

What a blessing to be a mother (or father), but also what a responsibility and a challenge this blessing brings! If you are one of those, may God’s grace equip and enable you to be all that you should be.