Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

Opening the Ear to God's Call 1 Samuel 3:1-9   Jasmine Yohannan  St. Andrews MTC, Yonkers, NY   3 The lamp of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house of the Lord, where the ark of God was.4 Then the Lord called Samuel. "Speak for your servant is listening" seems to be the go-to verse when reading this passage. We all seem to skip over the circumstances that led Samuel to that moment and focus on the call itself. And while that is a great Kodak moment of the Bible, that little snippet doesn't show us the whole story. As Christians, we all seem to long for this Kodak moment. We wait for it eagerly, hoping God will come down and speak to us directly, speak through someone, or just SHOW us that whatever it is we're doing is "his will". But the truth is, it's very rare that anybody has that kind of amazing epiphany. God's call is a growing and evolving call. It cannot be reduced to one, singular definitive moment in time. It's a challenge, and Samuel accepted it from the beginning of his life, when Hannah brought him to the temple. Samuel's life was in complete surrender to God. He spent every day in the temple with Eli. He was constantly growing in the Lord. When God finally called Samuel "the lamp of God had not yet gone out" and he was "lying down where the ark was.". God's call can only be received by those who have a relationship that doesn't "go out" and is encapsulated by him in every moment. "Opening our ears to his call" requires us to have a genuine relationship with God. When we start to seek Him with the discipline Samuel did, our lives will begin to reflect His Kingdom. In the book  “Hearing God” by Dallas Willard it says, "We have no indication that even Jesus was constantly awash with revelations as to what he should do. His union with the Father was so great that he was at all times obedient. This obedience was something that rested in his mature understanding of his life before God, not on always being told “Now do this” with regard to every detail of his life or work.  Just like Jesus, Samuel was not waiting for a call to do God's work, he simply obeyed . When we dedicate our lives, it should be with the knowledge that this requires our obedience and ongoing faithfulness. Our singular response to God is not equivalent to his enduring response and plans for us. God's will cannot be revealed if we are not seeking after him. So we need to take some time to seek Him today and reflect on  God’s evolving and enduring call in our life.

PRAYER Father God, thank you for sharing your perfect communion with us out of your love, even though we are so undeserving of it. Help us to have the discipline and a true desire to maintain a real relationship with you. Let your Holy Spirit dwell in us with the hope that we may one day have a mature understanding of your will, and that others may be able to see your Kingdom revealed in us. Amen.   THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:   “Those in whom the Spirit comes to live are God's new Temple. They are, individually and corporately, places where heaven and earth meet.”   ―N.T. Wright