One midwest summer day when I was seven years old a friend and I were playing in a ditch with matches and newspaper. An hour later my folks were asking themselves, “What are we going to do with this child?”
It’s the same question every parent or guardian asks at some point. And it’s a question asked by Manoah in Judges 13 when he and his barren wife were told by an angel of the Lord that they were going to have a child. They were excited, and learned (in Judges 13:3-7) that their soon-to-be-born son, Samson, was to be dedicated to God from the womb.
They asked the Lord’s angel: “What is to be the child’s manner of life, and what is his mission?” (Judges 13:12). These are great questions, and the angel’s answer was not a list of to-do’s, but rather one primary direction that would encompass everything else: who they were to be.
The angel said Samson would be a totally dedicated to the Lord from the womb which mean his mother had to be totally dedicated to the Lord – especially during her pregnancy! She (they) needed to be dependent on God.
Being God-dependent means trusting Jesus for salvation through faith, first and foremost, then abiding in or living in His presence by reading the Bible regularly (his communication to us), praying (talking to the Lord), and growing in a committed relationship with other Christians (no one is made to walk alone). These are not meant to be checklist items, but enriching nourishment for our souls.
The answers to “What do we do with this child?” will begin to flow as we become more God-dependent people by abiding in Christ. (If you’re not sure where to begin, you can start reading the book of John.) So, what happened with the matches? Well they lit, I burned down most of that ditch! (Not my best day ever.) My parents lovingly disciplined me, and so began my parents’ trial by fire. I’m so thankful they pointed me to Jesus!
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