Someone knew my name before anyone else knew it, knows me, loves me, and knows and loves everyone else. At this stage let me refer to that ‘someone’ simply as One. At first, when I hear this One, I do not know who One is. Eventually however One reaches out to call me by name and to reveal devotional intimacy divine.
Thus, it was with a boy in a boarding school dormitory long ago, when he thought he heard a voice and answered: “Here I am.” He ran to the housemaster and said, “Here I am since you called me.” “I did not call you,” was the answer. “Go back to sleep.” The voice came a second time, and the boy returned to the housemaster. “Go back to sleep, my son, I did not call you.”
The voice called a third time. The boy got up again and went to his carer who said to him, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” Samuel was the servant boy. As he listened, he began to meet the One behind the voice. What he heard revealed was a message to share with his master, Eli the priest at the Temple school. This account was the beginning of Samuel’s devotional relationship with the One whose devotees of the time addressed as the Lord, Jehovah. (Ref. 1 Samuel Ch 3)
The call to devotion comes in God’s time to all who are listening.
We might ask what is devotion? It could be described as love, loyalty and enthusiasm for a person or an activity. In the case of a devotee’s relationship with God, it is because God has first shown love and faithfulness, and this has come to be recognised by the listening devotee. Then, as the devotional relationship with God grows, blooms, and bears fruit, the devotee so favoured develops into a steadfast man, woman, or child of God.
As you reflect on this topic, you may have questions. You may identify with Eli or with Samuel. You may even try to see things from God’s point of view. You may have a friend with whom you are confident to talk about these things.
