Saturday, July 16, 2016

Choosing Your Destiny: Lessons from Samson (at Sight and Sound)

   Did you ever watch a show, movie, or hear a story about someone who messed up and think “he should have known better?” Or, you watch a show and tell the character in the show not to do something you know the character is going to do anyhow (because you either saw the show before, or you are just that good at predicting shows). Yeah, I have definitely been there. In fact, I was there the other day before I saw the show Samson at Sight and Sound.
   There are many lessons in the production but the story boils down to a few key lessons specific characters learn.
   Delilah. A name well known by those who study the Bible, Delilah is the woman who caresses the secret to Samson’s strength out of him. Christians tend to see characters in the Bible as black and white. In other words: Delilah was a betrayer, Moses always followed God, Joseph forgave his brothers right away, Thomas was a doubter, etcetera etcetera. But, Sight and Sound does not portray characters that way.
   People in the Bible went through a lot of emotional situations, just like we do today. It is just the Bible is a narration of what actually happened; and it does not tell us how those people felt. That’s not a bad thing, it causes us to think more and have empathy about how other people are feeling. Anyhow, Delilah chose to follow her own path in the end. She knew that she needed freedom from her past and sin; but she didn’t follow the path she needed. She looked for freedom through what she wanted. But, she wasn’t set free in the end.
   The only way to true freedom is through the grace of Jesus Christ; but Delilah could not follow Christ because she felt she didn’t deserve it or she didn’t want it because of wanting pleasure in this life. She wanted to feel loved; but she compromised in order to get what she thought would make her feel loved. She loved herself more than she loved God.
   Just like Delilah, we many want something for our life that isn’t our destiny. To that some people may say “we make our own destiny.” And, in a way, we do. We choose the path we follow. Delilah chose to betray Samson. Samson teetered back and forth between following God/having faith and doing what he wanted to do. Many of us tend to teeter back and forth between having faith and falling away from God just like Samson. But, in the end, Samson had faith in God; and he chose to follow God. That is why Samson is in the hall of faith. He loved God and accepted God’s grace in the end.
   So, have you run away from the love and grace of God? Do you ever teeter back and forth between having faith in God and not having faith? When it comes down to it are you going to follow the destiny God has for you, or are you going to follow your own path?
   Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9-12, Luke 1:37, Hebrews 11:32
   P.S. If you have not seen Samson at Sight and Sound in Lancaster Pennsylvania yet I highly recommend it. 
   More information on the show at this website: https://www.sight-sound.com/WebSite/shows.do 

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