Then he told her everything in his heart, and said to her, "No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a holy one of God from my mother's womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like all other men." Judges 16:17
The book of Judges is quite a depressing read. There is a back and forth struggle with the Israelites and their faith. It always seems that their lack of faith gets the best of them, and there are many stories throughout about what happened when they turned away from God. Even the more 'heroic' stories are quite gruesome. The story of Sampson is no exception.
When I read this verse, I thought that it summed up the entire story of Sampson. He was a man set aside by his parents for God, but he always had trouble with temptations. In the end, he fell for a woman who was trying very hard to betray him. He gave into her out of complete desire for her. And, when he finally renounces his dedicated state, he loses his God-given strength.
I find that this is a great metaphor on how our lives are. If nothing else, Sampson's story shows us that we have many different challenges to face all throughout our lives, even if we set ourselves aside for God. In fact, Sampson also shows that just because we are Christians by family association or my title doesn't mean that we are following Jesus or fearing God.
God gives us so many gifts throughout our lives, but it is up to us how we decide to use them. Some of us will decide to improve on our gifts. Others of us will try to hide or reject the gifts we are given. Our rejection of gifts seems to be quite mindless, doesn't it? I mean, if you're at your birthday party and your friends bring you different gifts, would you reject them right in front of them? But that's what we do when we reject our own gifts from God - we show that we disapprove of them right before God's eyes. What's worse is that we then turn away from all the good things that God has for us and head towards something that we think is good for the moment - that pretty guy, that throwaway job, those super expensive clothes.
The interesting, but hopeful, thing about Sampson's story is the sign of God's mercy. Despite the fact that Sampson does some pretty questionable things throughout his life, he still has that godly strength throughout, right until he outright forsakes God with his own words. And, even though it doesn't end in the best way for Sampson, God still answers his prayer right at the last moment of his life. I pray that we will not have to wait until that moment, but it is still an example of the fact that God is always faithful to us, even if we aren't. God wants us to do well, and God wants to bring us back to God.
Living life will involve lots of decisions, but if we take the time to pray and read the bible, then we will be able to find our way through our problems. God is always faithful to us; let us be faithful.
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