Before the birth of their miracle child, the parents of Samson were given specific instructions on developing the physical and mental health of their promised child in order to fulfill the purpose that God had for him before he was born. “Now therefore beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor strong drink, and eat not any unclean thing: For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines” (Judges 13:4, 5).

God had a plan for Samson’s life that would have resulted in a satisfaction that only comes through obedience. Instead, however, Samson used the talents God gave him for his own selfish, misguided purposes and he suffered bitter consequences as a result. He associated with the enemies of God and explicitly disregarded the requirements that God had for His people. Instead of behaving consistently as a leader of Israel (a separate, distinct, uniquely theocratic nation), Samson united with unbelievers. “And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines” (Judges 14:1).

Sadly, this young man with a divine call on his life began chasing after earthly happiness instead of pursuing the will of God. What would have happened if he had been as faithful as his parents in obeying the plan that God had for him? “Had Samson obeyed the divine commands as faithfully as his parents had done, his would have been a nobler and happier destiny. But association with idolaters corrupted him. The town of Zorah being near the country of the Philistines, Samson came to mingle with them on friendly terms. Thus in his youth intimacies sprang up, the influence of which darkened his whole life.”1 By following God’s plan he would have had a happy life. We as humans too often seek happiness in the wrong ways and in the wrong places. But happiness is found in being and doing the will of our Creator who knows best how His creation works and what kind of life will bring true happiness to His creatures.

When he married an unbeliever, “[Samson] did not ask whether he could better glorify God when united with the object of his choice, or whether he was placing himself in a position where he could not fulfill the purpose to be accomplished by his life. To all who seek first to honor Him, God has promised wisdom; but there is no promise to those who are bent upon self-pleasing.”2

In spite of all this derelict irresponsibility towards duty in the fulfillment of his purpose, Samson still had some measure of success in defending the Hebrew people from the Philistines. However, his continued disregard for the warnings God had given His people in mingling with the heathen had their natural consequences. Satan first entices us to disregard the law of God and then when we follow his temptations, he leaves us to the consequences of our own actions.

Most of us are familiar with the tragic outcome that Samson suffered as as result of repeated folly:

“And when Delilah saw that [Samson] had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house” (Judges 16:18–21).

“What a change to him who had been the judge and champion of Israel!—now weak, blind, imprisoned, degraded to the most menial service! Little by little he had violated the conditions of his sacred calling. God had borne long with him; but when he had so yielded himself to the power of sin as to betray his secret, the Lord departed from him.”3 Satan truly mocks those who follow his ways. This is nothing new, as he has been doing that since the very beginning. “And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night” (Revelation 12:10).

After being imprisoned and made sport of by the pagans in their service to their false gods, something happened to this morally weak, spiritually poor leader who had been called to a high purpose but had neglected and abandoned the plan of God for his life. “And Samson called unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes” (Judges 16:28). These are the same words of the thief on the cross, who said unto Jesus, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42). In other words, this statement is coming from a heart that is repentant, a heart that finally recognizes the wisdom in the ways and works of God. “In suffering and humiliation, a sport for the Philistines, Samson learned more of his own weakness than he had ever known before; and his afflictions led him to repentance. As his hair grew, his power gradually returned; but his enemies, regarding him as a fettered and helpless prisoner, felt no apprehensions.”4

We know that Samson’s repentance was genuine, as he is mentioned in the hall of faith listed in Hebrews chapter 11. Why, with such a failure, is it possible still to be saved? It is the power of the cross of Calvary. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18). Why is there power in the cross? “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin”(1 John 1:7).

Through suffering, Samson had a chance to view Jesus and His cross. It is seeing this cross that brings salvation, no matter what we have neglected in the fulfillment of our purpose and no matter how far we have fallen. “He who desires salvation should fix his mind upon the cross of Calvary. It is there that the sinner may behold what sin has done. There he can see the infinite sacrifice that has been made to redeem him from the penalty of the broken law of God. As the transgressor realizes his lost condition, he sees in Christ his only hope of salvation. From the cross he learns precious lessons of the life, the self-denial, the self-sacrifice, the goodness, the mercy and love of the Son of God, who gave himself for us. Calvary portrays the matchless attributes of the divine character. As he looks to the cross, he will hate sin; for he will understand that it was sin that rejected, reproached, denied, scourged, and crucified the Majesty of Heaven. He will love the Father, who gave all Heaven to men in the gift of his only begotten Son. His heart will be filled with an eager desire for the knowledge of God, and for an understanding of the plan of salvation. He who has had a vivid view of the cross, will hate sin, and love righteousness. His doubts will vanish in the clear light reflected from the cross of Calvary.”5

For this reason, “all that we possess, our mental and physical powers, all the blessings of the present and the future life, are delivered to us stamped with the cross of Calvary.”6 Even if we do not fulfill our purpose, Jesus, because of His great love for the human race, will not neglect His plan. “He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Yes, the devil entrapped Samson and ruined his life—but Jesus our Saviour is greater than our failures, greater than our disappointments, greater than all the losses we have accumulated. He “hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Timothy 1:9, 10).

All this is available for us through the gospel of Jesus Christ. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). And that gospel is centered in the cross of Calvary. “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:14). Whatever it takes, whatever process we have to go through, Jesus our dear and true Friend is bringing us to the foot of the cross where there is salvation. “Hanging upon the cross Christ was the gospel. . . . Will not our church members keep their eyes fixed on a crucified and risen Saviour, in whom their hopes of eternal life are centered? This is our message, our argument, our doctrine, our warning to the impenitent, our encouragement for the sorrowing, the hope for every believer.”7

Until we personally come to the cross, we will be wandering in this world without a purpose and without that genuine happiness that carries no regrets. “In genuine, saving faith, there is trust in God, through the belief in the great atoning sacrifice made by the Son of God on Calvary. In Christ, the justified believer beholds his only hope and deliverer.”8

Jesus willingly went to the cross, knowing the cost before He came to this world. His love for the sinner was so great that in His divine wisdom and love, He gave up the heavenly universe to save even people like Samson, who chose the wrong path irrespective of the guidance given him. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:5–8).

Samson had no time to remedy what he had sown. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:7, 8). But that does not mean all is lost! “If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (1 Corinthians 3:15).

Because of the power of the cross, the finally penitent Samson will at last be saved. Praise be to our merciful God! Yet in all such situations, there is still some measure of eternal loss. How? Why?

“Every sin, every unrighteous action, every transgression of the law of God, tells with a thousandfold more force upon the actor than the sufferer. Every time one of the glorious faculties with which God has enriched man is abused or misused, that faculty loses forever a portion of its vigor and will never be as it was before the abuse it suffered. Every abuse inflicted upon our moral nature in this life is felt not only for time but for eternity. Though God may forgive the sinner, yet eternity will not make up that voluntary loss sustained in this life.”9

The psalmist warns us: “I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for he will speak peace unto his people, and to his saints: but let them not turn again to folly” (Psalm 85:8).

The earlier—the sooner—one turns his life around, the better it will be in the end. “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:16). “We are admonished to redeem the time. But time squandered can never be recovered. We cannot call back even one moment. The only way in which we can redeem our time is by making the most of that which remains, by being coworkers with God in His great plan of redemption.”10

We see the example of Saul the persecutor who became the greatest evangelist that the world has ever known—second only to Christ Himself, of course. We can see that this man of God had at least some time to rectify the damage he had done. This is why the earlier we experience this kind of conversion, the better.

Why is it that Paul held such a power? “To Paul the cross was the one object of supreme interest. Ever since he had been arrested in his career of persecution against the followers of the crucified Nazarene he had never ceased to glory in the cross. At that time there had been given him a revelation of the infinite love of God, as revealed in the death of Christ; and a marvelous transformation had been wrought in his life, bringing all his plans and purposes into harmony with heaven. From that hour he had been a new man in Christ. He knew by personal experience that when a sinner once beholds the love of the Father, as seen in the sacrifice of His Son, and yields to the divine influence, a change of heart takes place, and henceforth Christ is all and in all.”11

And what was the final result? What would he be looking for? “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

The Lord is calling you today to take up your cross. There is salvation in the cross. It looks like destruction and complete loss, but it is the secret of salvation. “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23, 24).

“The cross, the cross; lift it . . . and in the act of raising it you will be astonished to find that it raises you, it supports you. In adversity, privation, and sorrow it will be a strength and a staff to you. You will find it all hung with mercy, compassion, sympathy, and inexpressible love. It will prove to you a pledge of immortality.”12

And why the cross? In accepting the cross we have a complete transformation. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). What happens the moment we come in full surrender to that very detestable cross? “As the sinner, drawn by the power of Christ, approaches the uplifted cross, and prostrates himself before it, there is a new creation. A new heart is given him. He becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus.”13

Why do we need that new heart? “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26). “Christianity proposes a reformation in the heart. What Christ works within, will be worked out under the dictation of a converted intellect. The plan of beginning outside and trying to work inward has always failed, and always will fail. God’s plan with you is to begin at the very seat of all difficulties, the heart, and then from out of the heart will issue the principles of righteousness; the reformation will be outward as well as inward.”14

Jesus Christ, from the beams coming down the ages from the cross of Calvary, is calling you today. Will you come to His cross and then take up yours?