“She said, “The Philistines are here, Samson!” He woke up and thought, “I will do as I did before and shake myself free.” But he did not realize that the Lord had left him……. His brothers and all his family went down and brought him back. They buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel for twenty years.” Judges 16:20, 31 NET https://bible.com/bible/107/jdg.16.20-31.NET

God called Sampson before birth to do His will and be His man. Sampson was no Billy Graham. Sampson was reckless, vain, self-indulgent, and immoral. Yet he was God’s instrument of choice for punishing the Philistines. He was so full of himself that he didn’t realize the Lord had left him. Sampson forgot that what he did was accomplished through the Lord in him and not by his ability. Vanity takes us to the place Sampson lived. Our success, a result of God’s grace, causes us to believe it comes from our greatness. Sampson is described as having led Israel, but he had no followers. Sampson did everything on his own, and while successful in his own strength, he didn’t really make Israel better. Samson didn’t help Israel with their idolatry. He just removed some of their misery in the form of Philistine oppression. Jesus led in holiness. Jesus invested in men who would carry on His work until His return, a work continuing even to this day some 2000 years later. Jesus makes people better because He draws us to God, connects us to our Creator, Who begins to restore our lives to His original design. Jesus has always been a community, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. One God, three Persons, in unison, are working together to build a family of beloved children who love God and one another. We show we are His disciples when we love one another. We need to be and seek more leaders like Jesus rather than aloof heroes who relieve us but don’t make us better people.