A story about unconditional love…
What do you do when the one you love can no longer reciprocate your love?
What if something happens before you get married and your partner no longer has the ability to love you the way s/he did right before marriage?
You gotta watch this.
Bring out some kleenex too.
We all have had our eyes get us in trouble in the past.
Diet – “Just one pizza.” But we end up eating 8.
Exam – “Just one answer.” But we end up getting detention.
Pictures – “Just one internet site.” But we end up getting addicted to p0rn.
Samson had that problem too. He allowed his eyes to dictate the decisions he made.
WOMAN AT TIMNAH.
1 Samson went down to Timnah and saw there a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned, he said to his father and mother, “I have seen a Philistine woman in Timnah; now get her for me as my wife.” (Judges 14:1-2).
He allowed his eyes to decide. Some may say that it was love at first sight. What it really was – was attraction at first sight. His father spoke to him about his decision, that he may need to reconsider and choose from within the people of God, but he refused to listen.
Pursuing beauty is not wrong but if it ends there, it will not be enough to sustain a relationship.
They got married but ended up separating in the end.
PROSTITUTE IN GAZA.
One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. (Judges 16:1)
This time, it was no longer beauty he was after, but self-gratification and pleasure. Sin has a way of doing that. It graduates and snowballs into something bigger.
I guarantee that they did not spend the night to play Monopoly or Temple Run in his iPad.
DELILAH.
Her name meant, “she who weakens; she who entices.”
This time, Samson’s problem was not merely looking at beauty, nor seeking self-gratification. Now it’s ego.
“I will never fall for her trap.” Or so he thought.
He gave in and one of the saddest verses in the Bible was written.
But he did not know that the LORD had left him. (Judges 16:20)
LESSONS FROM SAMSON’S LIFE.
1. Allowing your eyes to dictate your decisions is unwise.
Samson let his eyes decide for his future and ultimately his destiny.
2 Cor. 5:7 tells us to live by faith and not by sight.
2. Spiritual foundation is the best foundation for any relationship.
Find one who loves God more than s/he loves you. Why? Because if s/he loves God and desires to obey God, then you will be in a good place.
3. God is a God of second chances.
“O Sovereign LORD, remember me. O God, please strengthen me just once more… “(Judges 16:28)
He asked. God answered. He then ultimately fulfills God’s purpose for his life.
God is still God and God is still good.
When we think of Christmas, we usually think of a baby born in a manger.
But that wasn’t the goal. It started in a manger but ended on a cross.
And THAT reminds me of how much LOVE was shown as a result.
It reminds me of the story of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer and statesman. He lived Norway between 1861-1930.
He tried to measure an extremely deep part of the Arctic Ocean. The first day he used his longest measuring line but couldn’t reach the bottom.
He wrote in his log book. “The ocean is deeper than that!”
The next day he added more line but again had to record, “Deeper than that!”
After several days of adding more and more line; He gave up without learning its actual depth.
All he knew was that it was beyond his ability to measure it. How ever hard he tried, his conclusion was “Deeper than that!”
You may have an idea of how great His love is… but it’s deeper than that.
You may have experienced a moment of His love… but it’s deeper than that.
You may have heard of how awesome His love is … IT’S DEEPER THAN THAT.
I pray that you will all the more experience the love of Christ this Christmas season.
Eph. 3:18, NLT. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
Because it was semestral break, we took the kids out of town. With us were the Sy’s (Dennis, Thammie and kids), Marge, Teri and Bruce.
As a family, we often take the opportunity to take off when we can because schedules have been crazy these days. Even our kids are now ‘busy’ – from baseball to musical theater, TFT to piano lessons.
During one of our conversations over breakfast, Thammie asked me a question, “What are your core values as a family?”
I really didn’t have a nice, carved out answer. I guess all these years Jenn and I have operated on instincts and never really wrote down our ‘core values’. I know many have written books these type of stuff like Patrick Lencioni who wrote a book entitled “Three Big Questions For A Frantic Family”. I know that James Dobson have written a few books on these too.
While driving home, I thought about that question again and I began listing down guiding principles we worked with through the years as a family.
1. Love God.
If we can teach our kids to do this, then I feel we’re on the right direction. We desire to help them develop a relationship with God. We feel that that is the most important task we have as parents – to connect them with God. We won’t be there for them all the time, but if they have a relationship with their Heavenly Father, then we know that they’ll be just fine.
2. Love family.
Respect. Compassion. Love for family. I guess that’s why we invest (not spend) on family vacations though we have an old, ugly, clunky Crosswind. Memories have been a priority for us. We may not have a lot to leave them in terms of inheritance, but memories through times together is definitely on the top of our list.
Seeing my kids love each other and look out for each other is definitely another important one for us.
3. Love others.
Service. Empathy. We want to teach our family not to just think about themselves, which we already are are very good at. Life is really not about us. It’s about God and the people He loves.
4. Love learning.
With the influx of information today, the accumulation of it is no longer the key to success. Everything is now ‘googlable’.
However, processing and filtering of information is now the name of the game. Critical thinking has never been as critical. If we are successful in inputing love for learning, then I feel they will accomplish what God has designed them to be and do.
