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This Year's Leadership Training for Christ Theme

Developing Skills in Leadership, Bible Knowledge, and Christian Servanthood

"Here I Am"

Think back to your childhood. Imagine yourself playing outside in your yard or watching television at the other end of the house when the unmistakable voice of your father called out to you. How did you respond? Some children respond by saying, "What?" Others reply with, "Yeah?" Some don't even answer at all!

Now, imagine that it wasn't your earthly father calling you but God - your Heavenly Father. How would you respond then? Somehow, shrugging your shoulders and offering a disinterested, "Yeah?" doesn't seem appropriate. Neither does a lazy, "Huh?" Those answers to your Heavenly Father's call don't reflect the kind of respect that God is due. And they suggest an unconcerned attitude that says, "I might be interested in what you have to say, Lord, and then again I might not. And by the way, why are you bothering me?"

How different it is with Samuel! In 1 Samuel 3:4 God calls out to Samuel and his answer is remarkable! "Here I am." In fact, the Lord calls out to Samuel three times and each time Samuel's response is the same: "Here I am." Though he was only a young boy, Samuel's reply to the Lord's call shows his spiritual maturity, for those words are not the words of a haughty, defiant, or spoiled child. They are the words of a servant.

From the day of his birth Samuel was raised to be a servant of the Lord. Surely Samuel's mother Hannah had told him of his miraculous birth and how even his name, "heard of God," spoke of a special relationship with the Lord. Perhaps during each of her annual visits to bring Samuel a new robe, Hannah reminded him that his birth was evidence that God answers prayers. Growing up in the house of the Lord at Shiloh Samuel learned early on the nobility of servanthood. So, it only seems appropriate that when the Lord called, Samuel's response was the response of a servant, "Here I am."

These words imply that one is ready to do the caller's bidding. They suggest someone at the ready. They have the tone of humility and the sense of someone desiring to please. There's a quiet confidence in the words.

In a time when disrespect seems to be rampant and servanthood is equated with weakness, this year's LTC theme points to an important Biblical truth: We are to be the servants of God, for God calls us today just as He called Samuel. Though the Lord may not speak to us as He did to Samuel that night so long ago, God's call can still be heard. As surely as our earthly parents call out our name, our Heavenly Father calls out to us as well. Jesus Himself says in Revelation 3:20, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in." This year's LTC theme helps young people learn how to respond to God by focusing on the words of young Samuel. May Samuel's words be ours: "Here I am!"

Brian Simmons

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