The beginning of Samson’s life was nothing short of miraculous.  Zorah and Manoah were unable to conceive until an angel of the Lord came to visit Manoah and to bring her news that she would bear a child.  The boy Samson was destined for greatness: his life was full of promise.  The problem, as we’ll soon see is that, though he was destined for greatness, he foolishly squandered all that God had given him on himself.  Isn’t that the case of a lot of people? 

When you study the Bible regularly, you begin to see that there are, from time to time, people who want to be close to the Lord.  Those people work hard at using the resources that they’ve been given for the Lord’s glory rather than for their own.  And then other times, there are people who have so much promise and yet waste it foolishly on themselves.  We don’t often think of them as great people because they really only cared about what was good for them.  For the others, however, we know they are great because their commitment is to being selfless. 

What are you doing with what you’ve been given?  The resources and time that God has granted to you – are they being given generously for the good of others, or are they squandered on your own selfishness?

The ironic thing is that God did end up using Samson for His glory, and it cost Samson his life.  Which is better: to willingly give your life up, or to begrudgingly fight for your life to the end?  Jesus modeled willingly giving up His life, and that is what we should strive for, too.