"When Samuel spoke all Israel listened".
1 Samuel 3:23.
Samuel of the Old Testament earned a proud reputation as
judge and ruler in Israel for he was an honest man whose conduct
and way of life was beyond reproach. He was the man he was
because as a man of God he took his faith seriously. He owed
character-making influences to his mother, Hannah, who dedicated
him to the service of God as her response in gratitude for
the gift of a son; to growing up in the Temple, taught by
the priests, closeted where the things of God milled their
minds. He gained much from these devout and disciplined people.
There are those who speak of their Gody parents and good
Christian homes even when they have long since ceased to practice
the faith of their childhood and give little or no credence
to their Christian heritage. Many believers, however, gladly
admit their indebtedness to parents, family, teachers, church
and friends who helped them make the Christian faith their
own and to live by it.
There is always this dilemma - the influence of parents,
home, family, friends, effective in the moulding of character
and in setting good and proper patterns in behaviour, and
the rejection by so many of a similar upbringing and that
even when for some it remains something to turn to for comfort
and consolation in the crisis times in their lives. These
different responses have much to do with personality and individuality
and influences which affect their thinking and living; attitudes,
responses and objectives that come out of their experiences
of life as they live it.
There are Christians whose faith is their received and acknowledged
inheritance. They travel easy, satisfied with who and what
they are, and their loyality, devotion and generousity ot
their church guarantees its existence and continuing usefulness
as the fellowship of the faithful in that place. Totally dependable
they can be inward-thinking, lacking in their Christian commitment
to be outgoing to others to serve them and to win them for
Christ. Enthusiasts who take seriously the command of Jesus
to bring others to Him are not encouraged when how they speak
and act differs from the usual practices of their church.
There is evidence, however, that churches are more readily
meeting their responsibility to reach out to people with the
good news of Jesus Christ, to convince them of their need
of Him in their lives. Efforts are being made to equip members
to do what is required of them in a task to which Christ has
committed every Christian.
Clergy and leaders in the churches have the responsibility
of encouraging their members to do their duty to God and other
people with whom they have contact and in whatever capacity.
Samuel had to do that and because he set a good example to
the people when he spoke everyone listened. And he spoke plainly
and precisely on duties and responsibilities so that none
would misunderstand him. It is essential that Christian leaders
speak as Samuel did forthrightly and sensitively to people
who live often in complex situations and difficult environments.
The pressure on church and people is to be involved in whatever
effects people to do what should be done to improve society.
Everything that troubles the citizen should concern the church.
It is to its credit that it often makes a large contribution
to the betterment of the communities it serves. It has a gospel
to proclaim and it provides the motivation for positive responses
to those in need of help in their lives, whether admitted
or denied.
The church is at its best when it is out in the world with
its plea to people to have faith in God; when it is feeding
the hungry, clothing the naked, healing the sick and educating
the illiterate, when it is championing the causes of the poor
and oppressed and opposing political systems and tyrannies
which belittle, injure and destroy people.
The church is most ineffective when it is inward-looking,
concentrating only on doctrines, liturgies and structures
to the exclusion of more important and pressing matters; when
it loses sight of its destiny as the one organisation which
is not for itself but for others.
The church ought not to be a holy huddle, a select circle
of the like-minded but a home for everyone who admits his
need of God and comes to Him in faith and trust. It is the
people of God who share in the worship of God, recognise their
indebtedness to Christ and determine to serve Him and their
fellow men as the Holy Spirit equips and enables them.
S.E. Long (Canon)
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