The Monday Memo from John Stanko

Memo 1120: Your Hair

Last week we looked at how the Lord spoke to the young boy named Samuel to tell him what his life work was going to  be. We learned that before Samuel was born, his mother Hannah had dedicated him to the Lord. Here is her prayer when she gave him to God:

One time, after they had finished their meal in the house of the Lord at Shiloh, Hannah got up. She was deeply distressed, and she cried bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. Meanwhile, Eli the priest was sitting in his place by the door. Hannah made a solemn promise: “Lord Almighty, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don't forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut” (1 Samuel 1:9-11 GNT).

Hannah made the unusual promise that if God gave her a son, she would see to it that he would never get a haircut! Why is that? What was the significance of such a vow? Let's try to see what the Lord can teach you this week about His will for your life from this story.

A SYMBOL

Very often in the Bible, God uses everyday things to teach spiritual lessons. Things like oil, doves, water, bread, and lambs all have some special meaning for us that speak to us about God and His will for us. But what about not getting a haircut? What could that possibly teach us about God's will and purpose for your life? Let's think about that for a moment and ask God to help us understand.

Think about your hair. What color is it? Does it grow fast or not so much? Is it fine or thick? Is it curly or straight? Your hair is unique to you. In fact, if someone examined your hair with special scientific instruments, they could find out it belonged to you and no one else on earth! Nobody has hair like you, not even your brothers or sisters. God gave you your hair and all its special characteristics. It comes out of you and you have nothing to do with it until after it grows.

Once your hair grows, you are free to do with it what you want. You can allow it to grow long or cut it short. You can change your hair style as often as you wish. You can find a style that you like and keep it for the rest of your life if you want to. You can change its color. The point is that your hair is yours, and you are free to do what you like with it—even if you want to shave it all off.

HANNAH'S VOW

Now, let's go back to Hannah's prayer. She promised no one would touch her son's hair. If we think of that as a symbol, Hannah was actually saying, "God, if You give me a son, I won't try to make him who I think he should be. I won't allow others to do so either.  I won't try to shape or fashion his life to how I would like to it to turn out. Whoever you make him to be is who he will be, and I as his mother won't interfere. He belongs to you."

So Hannah was saying she wasn't going to try and make her son a doctor, lawyer, or farmer. She was going to cooperate with whatever came out of her son for him to be, which was symbolized by his hair. His long hair would indicate that he was a man of purpose, made so by God's will for his life.

Just like God has given you unique hair, He has given you a special purpose, something only you can do and be. Just like your hair, you haven't done anything special to make it part of your life. But once you know your purpose, you can then help make it all it can be. You can go to school, get special training, practice, or set up a business to make your purpose something that looks good on you—just like you do with your hair.

What comes out of you that is special to you? Is it music or art? Do science or math come more easily for you than your friends? Do you have special athletic abilities? Think of those things as your hair. God gave them to you and they are not yours to do what you want. Instead, you are to develop them so God can use them to reach others and do His will. So now that you see you have a purpose and it's very much like your hair, you can work to care for your purpose just like you do your hair, giving it some attention every day as you become the person God created you to be.

Memo 1119: "Speak to Me, Lord"

This week, we start a new series directed toward young people to help them find their purpose. I'll be writing with younger readers in mind, but I'm confident there will be lessons for both adults and children in each entry. I hope you'll share these with the young folks in your life. Then when we're through, there will be a book titled "Never Too Young" to help young people all over the world be young people of purpose.

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Let's start our study of young people and children of purpose in the Bible with the story of Samuel. God spoke to Samuel when he was a child and told him what his life's work would be. Before we look at that, let's look at a bit of Samuel's family background to see if maybe you have something in common with him.

Samuel's mother's name was Hannah and she could not have children, which made her very sad. What did she do when she was sad? She prayed:

One time, after they had finished their meal in the house of the Lord at Shiloh, Hannah got up. She was deeply distressed, and she cried bitterly as she prayed to the Lord. Meanwhile, Eli the priest was sitting in his place by the door. Hannah made a solemn promise: “Lord Almighty, look at me, your servant! See my trouble and remember me! Don't forget me! If you give me a son, I promise that I will dedicate him to you for his whole life and that he will never have his hair cut" (1 Samuel 1:9-10 GNT).

We'll talk later about why she promised she would never cut Samuel's hair, but I want you to see that his mother gave and dedicated him to the Lord before he was born. Maybe your parents did the same thing.

God heard Hannah's prayer and Samuel was born. Hannah kept her promise and when the boy was young, maybe three or four years old, she took him to live with the man of God at that time whose name was Eli. Samuel stayed there without his mother so he could learn about God from Eli the priest. Then one night, even though Samuel was a young child, a voice spoke to him:

Before dawn, while the lamp was still burning, the Lord called Samuel. He answered, “Yes, sir!” and ran to Eli and said, “You called me, and here I am.” But Eli answered, “I didn't call you; go back to bed.” So Samuel went back to bed (1 Samuel 3:4-5).

This happened a few more times before Eli realized God was the one who was speaking to Samuel:

Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy, so he said to him, “Go back to bed; and if he calls you again, say, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went back to bed. The Lord came and stood there, and called as he had before, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak; your servant is listening" (1 Samuel 3:8-10).

Isn't that amazing? God was speaking to Samuel and He came to talk to him about His will for Samuel's life.

Maybe God is speaking to you about your life too. It could be that you have thoughts and ideas, maybe even a picture in your mind, of what your future will look like. I bet people tell you that you are good at certain things like building, singing, or helping. That could be God speaking to you through them to help you see the talents and gifts he has given you.

Or maybe you've heard a voice in your heart and didn't know who or what it was. If that's the case, I want you to do what Samuel did. I want you to say, "Speak, Lord, for your servant listens" and then listen even more closely to what you hear. God may be telling you what He wants you to do with your life.

Our lesson today is that God wants you to know His will for your life and He can begin speaking to you about it when you're young. Don't think, "I'm too young to know or do God's will." Instead, accept that God knows your name and has something for you to do that only you can do. Then begin to tell other people what it is that you are hearing, and then watch God help you do what it is that He showed or spoke to you, no matter how young you are.

Memo 1118: A New Series

It's time to start a new series, this one titled "Never Too Young." For the next six months, we'll look at examples from the Bible of  young people, some infants or children and others in their teenage years who God used in some significant way. We will look at people like Genesis Joseph, Samuel, David, Mary the mother of Jesus, Moses, Miriam, John the Baptist, and Daniel along with passages from Proverbs, Psalms, Acts, and the gospels that are consistent with our theme. Then when we have about 25 entries, I will compile them into a book.

Over the years, I've been regularly asked if I had any purpose material that was age appropriate for a younger audience. Then recently when my Colombian friend Yair asked if I had anything he could use with his classes, I concluded God was speaking to me and it was time to write something. The good news is that Yair will be translating each entry into Spanish, so I will be in essence be working on two books every week.

YOU CAN HELP

I know you probably don't fit into the youth category for most of my readers are older because I speak most often to adult audiences. I'm confident there will be purpose insights from which you will benefit, so please read as you always do, but then I want to ask for your help. When you get an entry in this series, pass it on to some young people you know. That may be your children or grandchildren, nieces or nephews. If you work in a school, then share it with the students. If you work with youth in your community or church, give them a copy. Don't just give it away, however, but also be willing to talk to them about what they are reading to help them become a young person of purpose. Don't you wish someone had done that for you when you were younger and the question started coming, "What do you want to do when you grow up?"?

My premise for this series will be the same for any series in which I have written about purpose and that is that God wants you to know your purpose so you can fulfill it—and that goes for the youngest members of our society and churches as well. If God wants someone to do His will, and of course He does, then He must reveal what that will is. Won't it be great when this series helps your young loved ones and friends find a life of purpose? And if it helps you do the same along the way, then all the better.

WHAT TO EXPECT

Every entry I write in this series will have one common assumption and that is this: There's no baby or adolescent version of the Holy Spirit. As we'll see, when God revealed himself to the youth of Scripture, He didn't talk baby talk to them. He didn't discuss matters that would only pertain to an audience of youth. God treated them like adults and gave them serious responsibilities. He told the boy Samuel that there was sin in Eli the priest's family. The Spirit made a teenage girl the mother of our Lord Jesus. God took teenage Daniel from his home in Judea and sent him to a Babylonian university where he stayed for the rest of his life. God didn't treat these young people like they were in the minor leagues, He spoke to them, revealing things that indicated He expected them to play at the major league level. And play at a high level they did, winning victory after victory for the Lord, often while their adult counterparts were relegated to being spectators in the stands.

It's the desire of every young person to grow up and be treated as an adult—even when they're not quite ready for that. However, I have told youth audiences that there is someone they can go to where they will always be treated like an adult and that someone is God. If they have faith and pray, it will be as effective as any bishop, pastor, or other adult leader. Their faith can move mountains just like an adult's can, for God is no respecter of persons, and that includes the young. If they have faith and trust Him, then He's ready to use them in significant ways. How cool would that be for a youth to hear? Do you think that would impact their behavior, their studies, their participation in church?

So next week, we'll take a look at the boy Samuel as we start our series. I won't present these in the order in which they are found in the Bible, but will mix them up as we go. And someone like David is going to merit more than a few weeks because we know so much about his young life. Who knows, we may end up with more than 25 entries, and I'm going to rely on Yair (and you) to tell me if something I'm writing is too advanced for the youth he's or you're working with. This may be one of the more important books I have written, so I also solicit your insight and feedback if you have any comments or ideas for posts on this important topic "Never Too Young." So there you have our direction for the coming months. Before we start, I wish you a blessed week from here in Kenya!