As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the LORD and dwell there forever. 1 Samuel 1:22
I belong to a gym where we work out as a group, everyone doing the prescribed workout of the day. We have a coach who sets the workout, guides the class, and critiques us. I could go to a gym where I do whatever I want, but I don’t. I go to this gym, with a prescribed workout. If the coach said we were all going to do squats, and everyone else did squats, but I started doing burpees and box jumps, it would be disruptive to the class. When I joined this gym, I knew that I was signing up to do what was asked of me each day. I don’t have to go to this gym, but if I do, I must comply with the expectations. Doing whatever I want simply isn’t an option.
This is similar to my faith and recovery. I don’t have to live in faith and recovery. I can live (and have lived) the life of addiction. If, however, I want to live in faith and recovery, there are certain expectations or requirements. Most obviously, I can’t live in recovery and use drugs. Those two things are mutually exclusive and simply aren’t compatible. By definition, if I desire to live in faith and recovery, I must daily work at abandoning my way to follow God’s. Again, I don’t have to live in faith and recovery, but if I want to, I must comply with certain expectations. Doing whatever I want simply isn’t an option.
This essential commitment to obedience is illustrated in today’s passage. In the story, Hannah, previously childless, promised God that if he gave her a son, she would give that son back to God. God blessed Hannah with a son and once the child was weaned from her, she knew it was time to give him back. So, though he was likely still a toddler, she took him to Eli, leaving her son with the priest. She didn’t have to make that deal with God, but she did. And once she made it, she had to comply. I’m sure she’d have preferred to keep her child at home. Maybe she considered disobedience, but in the end, she realized that doing whatever she wanted simply wasn’t an option.
We don’t have to call ourselves Christians. We don’t have to claim the name of Christ. If we do though, there are certain expectations. If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23). For the Christian, daily following Christ isn’t optional. It’s essential.