The Prophet Samuel
Now it came to pass when Samuel was old that he made his sons judges over Israel. … But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside after dishonest gain, took bribes, and perverted justice. 1 Samuel 8:1,3
Samuel was not a failure as a father. He was a sincere believer who faithfully walked in God’s ways. He raised his sons to believe in the Lord and walk in His ways, too. What a heartbreak it was for Samuel to see his sons turn their hearts away from God and walk in the ways of sin.
Of all the things we can do for our children, the greatest is to teach them about Jesus their Savior and His Word. Our greatest hope for our children is that they believe in Jesus, walk in His ways through life, and go to heaven one day. It can happen that in spite of all our efforts and prayers as parents, our children turn away from God. This does not mean we are failures as parents. As we have opportunity, we still witness to our children. We keep praying for our children.
God tells parents, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6) God can restore someone who has strayed from Him. “The Lord is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) We love our wayward children. The Lord loves our wayward children even more. We want our wayward children to return to the Lord. The Lord wants it even more. As it says in the story of the prodigal son’s return, “When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” (Luke 15:20)
Lord, bring our wayward children back to You in repentance and faith. Amen.