Does this sound familiar? Samson met a girl his parents didn't like. Is that unusual? Parents are often not impressed with the choice their child might make. But this girl was a non-believer. We would say she wasn't a Christian. What heartaches similar situations have caused through the years! The parents pled with Samson. Putting it into today's language it would read, "Isn't there a girl at our church you would like? Where did you meet this girl? At a party? Maybe you shouldn't have been there." And so the questions would go on. What was Samson's answer? "I want her. Get her for me." (The words which follow in verse 4 were no doubt added by Samuel who was probably the author of the book of Judges and with hindsight showing why God allowed this.) It was living dangerously, however. Two or three times Samson faced life-threatening situations from which only his God-given strength rescued him. Verses 5 and 6 are amazing for example. Samson had nothing in his hand, but the Spirit of God was on him and he easily defeated the lion. Sometimes Christians find this matter of "nothing in their hands" a very difficult situation to face. They think they must have, for example, big programs. There must be high academic qualifications. There is nothing wrong with either except when we depend on those things and not on the Spirit of God. Nothing can be a substitute for the power of God. On several other occasions Samson displayed this unusual power God had given him. But God had given it to him to use in delivering Israel. More often he used it for his own pleasure or safety. That makes us face the question - what are we doing with the spiritual gifts God has given to each of us? Are they being used for our glory or for the glory of God and the purpose for which they were given to us? |
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