Why Dedicate Kids to God?
Have you ever wanted something so badly that you couldn’t even eat? Have you ever prayed for something so fervently that others thought you were intoxicated? When was the last time you wept bitterly as you prayed? Such were the prayers of Hannah, a childless wife in 1 Samuel.
She pleads with the Lord for a child, asking God to give her a son. Her desperate longing is unmistakable; her desire, heartfelt. What’s surprising, however, about her prayers, is the vow she makes to the Lord. Hannah prays, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life” (1 Samuel 1:11).
Here’s a woman surrounded by children, but with no children of her own. Here’s a woman asking God for a son while simultaneously promising to give any future son right back to the Lord.
Can we imagine making such a vow? Can we imagine a heart that is prepared to surrender everything to God? Can we relate to someone who is willing to submit to the Lord that which is nearest and dearest? How many parents have we met who joyfully devote their children to the will of the Lord?
Soon after praying her desperate prayer, Hannah gives birth to a baby boy named Samuel, and she proves faithful to fulfill her vow. After nursing the baby for some time, Hannah takes Samuel to the house of the Lord and dedicates him for as long as he will live.
It seems so simple, dedicating our children to the Lord. We have a “baby dedication service” twice a year at the church I pastor, one at Christmas and another on Mother’s Day. Lately, these services have been pretty full, as our families have welcomed 12-15 new babies a year for several years running. I love these special services. It’s beautiful to see parents standing at the front of the sanctuary, holding their newborn babies, committing to the church that they aim to disciple their children in the way of the Lord, while asking the church to partner with them in this ministry.
We present each family with a new Bible that can be read to their children and, one day, read by their children. Other families stand with them as we pray, asking Jesus to grant us all the wisdom and grace needed to devote these precious gifts to the one who gave them in the first place.
Once the service is over, I always wonder what challenges these families will face as they strive to live out their vow of dedication. What will threaten their desire to surrender their family to Christ? Will the test come when their son asks if he can play baseball instead of gathering with the church? Or when Family Worship conflicts with Monday Night Football? Will it be when their daughter feels called to move overseas as a missionary to a dangerous people?
Will these families be called to follow the example of Zebedee who stood silently in the boat as his two sons, James and John, stepped out, left everything, and followed Jesus? I just picture this man standing there, watching his sons, the ones who were to take care of him as he ages—provide for him, run the family business, and serve as his retirement plan—stepping out, leaving everything behind in order to follow the Christ. It reminds me of my parents dropping me off at the airport when I was 23, willingly sending me to live in the depths of the Peruvian jungles for the next two years. It reminds me of all of the faithful parents who have dedicated their children to the Lord by supporting their dedication to the Lord, valuing obedience over safety.
A call to dedicate our children is a call to embrace the words of A.W. Tozer, realizing that “everything is safe which we commit to him, and nothing is really safe which is not so committed.”[i]
Dedicating our children to the Lord is a call to seek the Lord’s will for their lives, no matter how unpopular, how inconvenient, how uncomfortable, or how dangerous. It is a call to submit our dreams for them to the plan Jesus has for them. A call to recognize that, long before we named them, Christ knew them. Long before we loved them, Jesus died for them, and they, therefore, belong to him.
Parenting is stewardship; taking care of that which belongs to Jesus in such a way that pleases Jesus, glorifies Jesus, and points our children to Jesus.
(taken from Gospel Family, p. 71-72)
[i] A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (Wing Spread Publishers, Camp Hill, Pennsylvania: 2006), p. 28.
