Train Up a Child

I have always heard that if a child doesn’t learn to obey his parents, it will be hard for him to obey God--or other authorities, for that matter. I was reading in the book of Samuel about him as a child under the tutelage of Eli, the prophet. It is clear from the account of little Samuel’s hearing a Voice and his quick, repeated response to Eli that he was an obedient and alert servant.

This did not come without training. From a tender age Samuel had been taught to listen for the voice of Eli. No matter that he was roused from his bed three times in the wee hours of the morning (for the lamp that burned throughout the night in the tabernacle, and was extinguished at dawn, was still burning), he still quickly sprang up to what he thought was Eli’s voice. Of course, he was a growing boy and needed his sleep; most children would be loath to leave the delicious slumber and comfort of their beds when called by an adult. Whoever liked to get up early for school or chores?

The Bible says that Samuel did not yet know the Lord, no doubt due to his immaturity, yet he knew the voice of the man of God over him and knew to come at his bidding. His parents had doubtless instilled in him those good habits even as a very young child. This was excellent preparation for his stellar future, when he would hear from God as the last judge and first prophet of Israel. He is known as a type of Christ, being a prophet, priest and judge. But he learned to recognize God's voice that night while still a child.

We heard something sad and even tragic while we were with our son in Texas last week. Riding in the car, we got to conversing and reminiscing about old times, and Trevor told us he had been looking up Mississippi schoolmates on Facebook. One kid he had known since first grade--in fact, his first friend made as a newcomer to the school--was hard to track down. I remembered the little black boy who delighted Trevor with his funny antics. Once he ate supper with us, and maybe even spent the night in about the third grade.

Finally Trevor stopped looking in classmate data and typed his name on a search engine. It came up in the Police Notes of a Louisiana newspaper. Our son was crushed to find out the boy he had known as funny, energetic, and resourceful, despite coming from a disadvantaged home situation, was in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for life. Trevor said he felt the boy never had a chance, growing up desperately poor with no father.

Reading on, Trevor found that the man, now more than 40 years old, had been living in a park. He knocked on a door and asked the older woman who lived there if she had any work he could do for food. While she had no work, she made him a sandwich. A few nights later, he returned to her property, removed a room air conditioner from a bedroom window, gained access to her home and robbed and raped her. I cringed at the story for more than one reason.

Nearly 20 years earlier, our newly married daughter and her husband were living in the house she had grown up in since we had moved away. One night when she was home alone, she thought she heard a knock on the door while she was taking a shower. She wrapped a towel around herself, grabbed a robe, and went to the door. This was in the country and she was fearful, but, peering out, she recognized one of the persons standing on the porch. It was the same boy Trevor had known as a friend in elementary and who had been to the house so long ago. They gave her a line about a survey or something, but she quickly closed and locked the door.

Our phone rang in Louisiana where we were visiting another son, and her trembling voice related the situation. "Mama, Shannon's at work, and I'm scared!" she said. “Call him!” we insisted. She didn’t like to bother her husband when he was on duty, but after all, he was a policeman! She did, they followed up and found the men with burglary equipment in the car, and ended up charging them with several burglaries in the neighborhood. Thank God for angels over the house that night.

Such a tragic end to a misguided life. But maybe not the end, because, as we told Trevor, Angola Prison has in recent years become the scene of great revival. The majority of the inmates are now strong Christians, and Angola, whose very name sent shivers down the spine of hearers for years, now has the reputation of being a model prison in behavior and orderly conduct. Inmates can even study and earn a degree in Christian Ministry. Perhaps God will at last get this prisoner’s ear, and his life will be salvaged under the Godly preaching of the ministries that have been called there. God is the Father who never gives up on His child.