A Call to Service for Christ

A Call to Service for Christ

And all Israel… recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord.

1 Sam 3:20

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1 Samuel 3:1-21 (NIV) 1 The boy Samuel ministered before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions. 2 One night Eli, whose eyes were becoming so weak that he could barely see, was lying down in his usual place. 3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the Lord called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down. 6 Again the Lord called, "Samuel!" And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." "My son," Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." 7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord: The word of the Lord had not yet been revealed to him. 8 The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. 9 So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10 The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 11 And the Lord said to Samuel: "See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 12 At that time I will carry out against Eli everything I spoke against his family--from beginning to end. 13 For I told him that I would judge his family forever because of the sin he knew about; his sons made themselves contemptible, and he failed to restrain them. 14 Therefore, I swore to the house of Eli, 'The guilt of Eli's house will never be atoned for by sacrifice or offering.'" 15 Samuel lay down until morning and then opened the doors of the house of the Lord. He was afraid to tell Eli the vision, 16 but Eli called him and said, "Samuel, my son." Samuel answered, "Here I am." 17 "What was it he said to you?" Eli asked. "Do not hide it from me. May God deal with you, be it ever so severely, if you hide from me anything he told you." 18 So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. Then Eli said, "He is the Lord; let him do what is good in his eyes." 19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of his words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word.

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Sometimes we forget that we are handicapped. We live life as though we are nearly
perfect and certainly unaware of the log in our own eye as we consider the speck in
the eye of another. We are all handicapped in some way, but usually are able to fool
ourselves or others as we divert people’s attention away from our own shortcomings
by either drawing attention to the shortcomings of others or by making sure
that we avoid displaying our own handicaps in public.

Louise has Downs Syndrome. Louise loves Jesus. One day she was presented with
a fantastic opportunity to serve Him. The owner of a Christian bookstore and gift
shop invited Louise to work a few days each week. Louise felt she had been
especially blessed by God, and looked at this new opportunity as a calling
to serve Him, just like those people who worked to support her and others in the
family home where she lived. They had a special calling to serve God as they
invested their talents. Now it was a joy that Louise could share as she
left for work at the Christian bookstore.

Customers would arrive and find Louise quite joyful. She would be busy
straightening out product on the shelves, dusting the gifts, holding the door open for
customers and generally making herself useful for the store owner and for Jesus.

Louise sometimes became frustrated when she didn’t understand an instruction or
something that she considered to be unnecessarily restrictive. Without the skill that
many others have to mask their frustration, Louise would, on occasion, explode.
At those times, she seemed to forget that she was working for Jesus and the
impact on the store owner and the customers was less than ideal.

I wonder if any of us can think of a day in the recent past when we were a little like
Louise. Something happened that seemed unfair. We didn’t appreciate the way we
were taken for granted, or we sensed that we were being held accountable for
something when we could have just been trusted.

I hope that we were in better control during this time of, dare I say it, being rather
un-Christ-like! May God help each one of us to grow more fully dependent
upon God so that our trust and loyalty can shine brightest during
such times of personal testing.

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Heavenly Father, it is important for me to know that I am able to honour You in my
life. I continue to fail You in so many ways, but You have continued to be patient
with me as I have had to grow up. Thank You for rejoicing over the little good that
I have managed in Your name and for forgetting all of that other stuff. You’re a
great boss (if I can use that word for You, my Lord and my Saviour)! Amen

- Noel Churchman

Noel was the Executive Director of Christian Horizons form 1976 to 2001. The devotionals we will be using are from a book he wrote in 2005 called “Walking with God”. Noel’s reflections are grounded in his experiences as an educator, and provider of supports for individuals with exceptional needs as well as his life as a dedicated follower of Christ.