Evil is real -- so is grace
After having seen when he was a young lad the dissipation of the sons of Eli, Samuel must now witness the same unfolding tragedy in the lives of his own sons. How can it be that the sons of a man of the stature of Samuel could have turned out so badly that he must now endure the judgment of the elders that "your sons do not follow in your ways"? We tend to laud the achievements of parents when their children turn out well. We give them most of the credit. But what do we say to men like Eli and Samuel, and their wives, when children do not walk in the footsteps of their parents?
