Today’s Scripture Reading (November 10, 2012): Judges 13
Every
Christmas I hear a song that expresses the idea that there is hope for the
future because a child has been born. The song is “When a Child is Born” and
strictly speaking it is not a Christmas Carol, it is actually a song of Advent
because it is a true song of waiting. But “When a Child is Born” is also not a
song that is written in the anticipation of a Messiah. It is a song that
recognizes the treasure that is found in every child – it is all about the
belief that every child has within them the potential to change the world in
which we live.
It is an old
idea. History is filled with world changers, and every one of them started off
as children. Most of the people that God uses in the Bible are called to
fulfill his purpose when they are adults. But there are a few exceptions, beside
Jesus, of people that were called to a divine purpose from even before the
moment of their birth. The most notable of these exceptions would be John the
Baptist, Samuel - and Samson. And most people would take the Nazirite vow for a
short period of time as adults. But all three of these exceptions took the
Nazirite vow as babies for life. Their lips would never touch alcohol and their
hair would never be cut short; in fact, their hair would become an outward sign
of their commitment to God and of something that God was doing inside of them. The
world would change because they were born.
Each was
called for a specific purpose. Samuel would be the last judge and would usher
in the era of the Kings. John the Baptist would spread a message that the age
of the Messiah was close at hand. And Samson would deliver the nation of Israel
from the hands of the Philistines. And all three would fulfill the purpose they
were called for. But Samson’s life would end in tragedy. The most remembered
story concerning the life of Samson involves the cutting of his hair near the
end of his life. But it was not that Samson’s strength was in his hair. Samson’s
strength lay in the commitment that Samson had made to God – the sign of which
was his hair. And in that moment when he tells Delilah about his hair, what he
is violating is his Nazirite vow and the very special relationship that he had
with his God – a relationship that he had shared with God since birth. Without
God he was just another man.
Every child
has the potential to change the world. But when the child decides to walk with
God, that potential is magnified as God works through them.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Judges
14
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