[Hannah said,] “I now give the boy to the Lord. For as long as he lives, he is given to the Lord.” Then [Eli] worshiped the Lord there. ~1 Samuel 1:28
From the 1930s until the late '80s, retail trading stamps were a big deal. S&H Green Stamps were the first retail loyalty rewards programs to see wide success. These perforated sheets of stamps were given to customers based on dollars spent at grocery stores, gas stations, and other retail outlets. I can remember going to the grocery store with my mother and having the lady at the checkout counter give her sheets of green stamps. I can also remember my mother asking me to paste these stamps into a book. But collecting the stamps and putting them in the book didn’t mean anything until they were taken to a “redemption center” and exchanged for valuable merchandise. These stamps were the forerunner to reward points on a credit card.
For centuries, Christian parents have brought their children to their churches for a special ceremony, just like my mother took the filled green-stamp books to a place that knew what to do with them.
Some churches call it “baby dedication.” Others practice something similar and call it “christening” or “infant baptism,” but whatever your church does, it’s essentially this: bringing your child and publicly acknowledging that this little person is a blessing, a gift on loan from God. And you are promising to bring her or him up in the faith.
You are also doing this in front of people you know who, hopefully, love you enough to remind you of this promise. Friends who would, at some later time, dare to challenge your activity when it seems to be drifting from the visible pledge you made in their presence.
“Excuse me, but I couldn’t help but overhear what you just said to your child,” they might courageously say. “I happened to be at the church when you promised God and your friends that you’d be a living example of what it means to be a godly person. Perhaps you ought to take a minute and ask your child’s forgiveness.”
Hannah brought Samuel to the temple as a small child. We’re not sure if Elkanah was also there with her, but if he was, he was part of this blessing. In any case, Hannah’s promise in 1 Samuel 1:28 to “give the boy to the Lord” is a tremendous model for us with our children. In fact, even the priest who performed the ceremony took note, promising to do his part in raising young Samuel to be a man of God.
When you bring your child to the front of your church—your covenant family—and present him or her to the Lord, you are promising to be an example of a godly man, pointing them to Christ. You are asking your minister and your friends to do the same. And you are putting the world on notice: “I’m going to be a Christian father. I need some help from you, and I expect us to hold one another accountable on this one.”
Bringing your child to the redemption center—what a great idea.