I Samuel 8:1-3
“When Samuel got to be an old man, he set his sons up as judges in Israel. His firstborn son was named Joel, the name of his second, Abijah. They were assigned duty in Beersheba. But his sons didn’t take after him; they were out for what they could get for themselves, taking bribes, corrupting justice.”
“As Samuel grew old, he appointed his sons to be judges over Israel. Joel and Abijah, his oldest sons, held court I Beersheba. But they were not like their father, for they were greedy for money. They accepted bribes and perverted justice.”
Effectively transmitting faith and service from one generation to the next was hard for Samuel and Eli. It is still hard today, even with our increased understanding of how our minds and emotions function. Israel was frustrated and wanted a king. God later judged them for it. But this was seeded with Samuel’s parenting of his sons. Regardless of our best efforts, everything we do is contaminated by sin. Everything is askew, harder than it should be, hurtling towards entropic doom. Blessed are those who recognize their utter defeat and turn for healing to the Ancient of Days and his beloved son Jesus. God’s healing spirit makes good things possible, like passing on, from parent to child, the practice of faith and wholeness.
Lord, I trust you to redeem my parenting failures. Satan loves to accuse me over these. But I believe you have answered my many prayers for our children and will continue to answer them, to redeem and restore. Satan doesn’t have the last word. You do.