So I finally watched “Black Panther” this weekend and “Samson” as a bonus. The two were pretty good views and I picked up some cool insights from each of them. They explore strength in similar ways as a force that falls on the user at the time they need it for combat except that one is of God and the other is from the nectar of the “panther poppy” (that’s what I’m calling it).
Throughout the films the father figures insist that shows of strength be minimised to moments of absolute necessity because they understand the cost of the strength. Sometimes I think we over flex our Christian muscles without appreciating the principle behind power and in our enthusiasm for a double portion of anointing we forget the cost of wielding it.
To whom much is given much is required
Samson was dedicated as a Nazarite and this meant he had to live a life of abstinence from cutting his hair, indulging in strong drink, forbidden foods and touching the dead. Interestingly his mother had been given a similar instruction before she conceived him. This is just one of the many ways in which God set apart His chosen. They were in the world but very literally not off it until life got in the way and the rules always seemed to end up broken.
Doesn’t that remind you of your own journey? When we started out with God we thought we could easily adopt the rules as if knowing them is what would make us obey them. Then when life started showing us that our own strength is futile we gave up at some points and stopped going to church because we felt like the spotlight would be on us for dancing the hardest at the club the night before. We felt we might just burst into flames like vampires because we had the evil of gossip stuck to our souls.
I don’t mean to sound dramatic here LOL, but the reality is that our own strength fails dismally at fulfilling the things of God. Only His grace is sufficient and only His renewed mercies every morning keep us from falling into the abyss of our sin. I can feel someone cringing at the word “sin” because our new school prosperity gospel seems to skip right over that aspect and what we just want is double for our trouble.
The point of highlighting sin here is also to highlight God’s greatness above sin. Samson lost a great deal because of his mistakes but even at the brink of death he only had to ask God before grace afforded him the very same power that had been conditional on his chastity. Does grace condone sin? No it does not but because sin is in our nature more grace is available than condemnation especially when we are able to admit it and repent.
Miracles out of Mis-Takes
Wakanda’s survival was based on their isolation and minimal involvement in world affairs and that worked well for a time but destiny had other plans. On his own T’Challa could not produce the necessary tension to bring out his true greatness.
Without his father’s mistake he would have been the undisputed king but he would also have been complacent to follow in the old footsteps which clearly were fading in the new world order. We all make mis-takes when we take the wrong decision or take the wrong meaning from a series of events in our lives but God always comes through miraculously.
An interesting thing I learnt when I went back to the bible and reread the story of Samson is that there were some things he was actually led to do by God for the sake of fulfilling his destiny. Things that they didn’t sit down and discuss but God knew that the event would bring about the expected outcome.
I’m no expert here but as someone who has constantly disqualified themself for not being straight enough or obedient enough to the rules, I can’t help but wonder if maybe there was a point to some of the crazy adventures I’ve had. I was reminded of some as I was catching up with a friend from Uni and sharing that stuff allowed me to connect the dots backwards and see that the Sharon who was so dangerously gusty in worldly things could also be dangerously gutsy in Godly things.
It only needed a shift in power. There was a much needed shift from my own power to the life saving power of God which made my scraped knees worth it in the end. I’m not nearly where I could be but I am further than I was when I started and that makes me further ahead than sitting still and pointing fingers at those still in transit.
My prayer today is that we would come to know our strength in God, that all the times we have wept and been kicked while we were down were not to show us how helpless we are but how powerful our father’s love is in protecting us and shielding our tormented souls. By virtue of trial there is triumph because we serve a purposeful God who is not ambushed by surprise but all knowing and supreme. Amen
