Kamis, 07 Juli 2011

Children's Bible Stories :)

Ketika melihat buku ini jadi teringat masa kecil :)
Tapi ini bukan sekadar cerita dongeng anak kecil. Ini cerita sepanjang masa..
Terbaca oleh saya sebuah cerita menarik yang dulu saya gemari, dengan bahasa yang sederhana namun jelas. Silakan disimak :)


I'm Listening, Lord
based on I Samuel 3

The years passed and as Eli grew older his eyes grew weaker. At night he would sleep in his own room, leaving Samuel on guard in the shrine near the gold covenant chest. A light burned all night in the sanctuary and the boy was glad of it.

One night, Samuel woke up at the sound of his own name:
'Samuel!'
He jumped up and hurried to Eli's room.
'Yes, Eli,' he said. 'What can I get for you?'
'I did not call you, my son,' Eli replied, 'Go back to bed.'
Samuel tiptoed back but before he had time to snuggle down he heard the voice again.
'Samuel!'
He was out of bed in a flash and into Eli's room again. But Eli knew nothing of it and ordered him back to bed.
'Samuel!'
A third time the call came. Samuel knew he wasn't dreaming. Once more he went to Eli. This time Eli did not send him away. He had guessed, at last, what must be happening.
'Samuel,' he said, 'I believe it is God calling you. Go back to bed. If the voice calls again, say, "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening".'

Saying the words over to himself, Samuel went back to bed, every muscle strained to listen. Again the voice came clearly:
'Samuel.'
'i'm listening, Lord,' Samuel answered, 'please speak to me.'
When Samuel heard what God had to say, he was sad and shocked. Eli's two sons were not good like their father. They disobeyed God's laws and grabbed for themselves the presents that people brought for God. God told Samuel that he was not going to let Eli's family be his priest any longer.

Early next day Eli came to find Samuel.
'What did God say to you?' he asked.
Samuel went very red and looked down at the ground. He did not want to have to tell Eli the sad news.

'Tell me everything,' Eli insisted.
When Samuel had told him what God had to say about his family, Eli bent his head and nodded quietly.
'God knows what is right and best,' he whispered.

As Samuel grew up, God often spoke to him. God gave him message to give to all the people of Israel. Everyone began to pay attention to what Samuel had to say.

***

A short nice story, isn't it?
Biarpun pendek, tapi banyak yang bisa kita ambil dari cerita ini.
Berapa sering Tuhan berusaha memanggil kita berkali-kali.
Apakah kita terlalu sibuk dan dikelilingi oleh keriuhan sehingga kita tidak mendengar suara-Nya?
Ataukah kita mendengar, tetapi kita tidak mengenal suara siapakah itu?
Atau kita mendengar, kita tahu Tuhan memanggil kita, tetapi kita tidak mengacuhkan panggilan-Nya?
Seringkali Tuhan ingin berbicara pada kita.
Pernahkah anda merasa anda perlu berdoa ketika hati anda sedang berat?
Tuhan sedang memanggil anda untuk berbicara dengan-Nya saat itu.
Apakah anda menjawab panggilan-Nya? Apakah anda benar2 berdoa saat itu?
Atau tak mengacuhkannya dan melanjutkan kegiatan anda?

Samuel, seorang anak kecil. Namun, Tuhan menyampaikan sebuah hal yang penting kepadanya.
Apakah kita pernah merasa,
'Tuhan, saya terlalu muda.. apa yang bisa saya lakukan untuk Tuhan..'
atau
'Tuhan, saya belum mengerti apa-apa.. mungkin kah saya dapat mengerti apa yang Kau katakan?'
atau
'Tuhan, rasanya saya dari dulu tidak memiliki keahlian apa-apa.. apa yang mau saya persembahkan buat Tuhan..?'

Kalau ya, ingatlah Samuel kecil. Umur berapa Samuel saat itu? Namun Tuhan menitipkan nubuatan tentang keluarga Eli kepadanya. bahkan Samuel dipakai Tuhan sebagai alat untuk menyampaikan pesan kepada bangsa Israel.

Kalau saja kita mau mendengar dan menjawab, setiap kali Roh Kudus berbisik di hati kita.

Masih banyak hal yang bisa diambil dari cerita ini. Mau share apa yang kamu dapatkan?
Silahkan saja sharing disini. Monggo! :)

God bless you ^^