Brad Gray is the Teaching Pastor at Central Wesleyan Church in Holland, Michigan. He has traveled extensively to the biblical lands of Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, and Greece, and currently leads biblical study trips to Israel and Turkey. Brad and his wife, Shallon, live with their four children in Holland, Michigan.
This fall, I’ve invited a few friends to share what God is teaching them. I hope their words are an encouragement to you as you continue to awaken to the joy and delight that comes with being a child of God.
On September 25, my wife gave birth to a little boy–Xyler Josiah. He’s the fourth child in the Gray clan, and as with our other three, our hearts soared the moment we laid eyes on him. It still amazes me that something at 6 lbs., 3 oz. and 20 inches in length can have such a life-altering impact on you. But it does, and I’m immensely grateful for that.
For the last three weeks, I’ve been holding this little, vulnerable, dependent, precious miracle, wondering about his life. What kind of personality is he going to develop? What’s he going to do with his life? How will he impact the Kingdom with the gifts God has already instilled within him? And what effect will I have on his life?
It’s this last question that’s the most sobering.
For the last several years, I’ve been studying the life of Samson, and I’ve been riveted by how this three thousand year old story has been impacting mine. Samson lived in the precarious time of the Judges–a dark period in Israel’s history, recorded in the book of Judges. Arguably some of the ugliest, bloodiest, most depraved chapters of the entire Bible are the last five chapters of Judges, immediately following Samson’s death. In this section we encounter a story encompassing attempted gang rape as well as the murder of a woman who was gang raped to death over a period of several hours. Following this unspeakable horror, the husband of the murdered woman cuts her body into twelve pieces and sends them throughout the land. Subsequently a civil war breaks out, and thirty five thousand Israelites are ruthlessly slaughtered at the hands of their own brothers. The massacre leaves the tribe of Benjamin nearly wiped out. To remedy the situation, young Israelite girls are kidnapped from other towns to repopulate the Benjamin tribe.
It’s ugly, broken, enraging, and perplexing. It makes you wonder what would motivate these people to engage in such grotesque and destructive kinds of behavior. The answer, according to the text, is found in this statement: “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (see Judges 17:6; 21:25, English Standard Version). This is how these final chapters of Judges begin and end in the literal Hebrew.
Here’s what’s telling: Prior to the Samson narrative, there isn’t a single reference to anyone in the book of Judges (or in the Bible) doing what was right in their own eyes.
Not one! And yet the moment we encounter the grown Samson, we’re introduced to a man who does what is right in his own eyes (see Judges 14:3, 7, English Standard Version), and spends the remainder of his life doing what was right in his own eyes, subsequently setting a precedent that others followed.
This is what the writer wants us to see.
The effects of Samson’s decisions were devastating, not only to his life, but to the lives of those around him, and to those who followed after him.
Samson led an entire generation astray because of the choices he made. And I’m willing to bet he didn’t have a clue as to the effects his decisions would have on others. But then neither do we.
It’s easy to get caught up in the notion that our choices don’t affect others.
We fall prey to believing we can do what we want and it won’t impact others. But it does. We’re not isolated individuals who can limit our effect upon others. We’re integrated beings whose lives bleed onto one another, and we impact one another positively or negatively.
How I choose to live my life matters. The decisions I make matter.
They matter not only to my well-being, but to the well-being of others, including my newborn son. It’s a sobering thought, but one I’m glad to have perspective on as I hold him in my arms. I need God’s help to live a life that leaves a positive effect upon him, as well as others.
I’m willing to bet you want to do the same.
This week, were giving away 3 copies of Make Your Mark by Brad Gray.
This week, were giving away 3 copies of Wrestling with our calling in life is a fundamental struggle for just about everyone. Who are we supposed to be? How are we supposed to live? What are we supposed to do? These are all questions many of us grapple with.
Surprisingly, the Samson narrative is one of the most instructive stories for helping us answer these questions. Often touted as a story about muscles, testosterone, and seduction, there is so much more to this ancient account. Employing all the best tools for interpreting the Bible today, Brad Gray unpacks the Samson story anew, giving us fresh insights into the universal callings of those desiring to live out God’s fullest design for life.
With passion, humor, and skill, Brad shows us how we can get right what Samson got wrong in order to flourish in our humanity, to make the most of the lives we’ve been given, and to leave a positive mark on our world.
The three winners will be selected and announced on Friday.
Who has made the biggest impact on you through their actions, words, or lives?
