Verse that stood out: Then Eli realized that the LORD was calling the boy. So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place – 1 Samuel 3:8-9

I’ve liked the story of Samuel’s call since I was a child. It’s a story children latch onto. There’s a little bit of comedy in it. Three times a voice calls out in the darkness to Samuel. Three times the boy goes and wakes the old priest up. Three times Eli says, “It wasn’t me.” Kids like that sort of thing.

As a child, there’s also the genuine shock as you hear Eli tell the boy, surely no older than yourself, “Go lay back down. It’s God talking to you. The next time you hear his voice, tell him you’re listening.” There’s wonder and fear. God, the God of all creation, the God who hung the stars in the heavens and knows them each by name, that God sometimes calls the smallest of children to do his work. If he could call Samuel then, could he not call me or you today?

Like I said, it’s a delightful thought; it’s also a dreadful thought that God might actually show up at any given moment. God doesn’t call people to easy lives. All God’s work is redemption work. Redemption work involves going into difficult places among difficult people. No wonder we so often refuse to listen. Too often we prefer the safety of a life unnoticed by the divine.

Still, God calls. How will we respond?