Who does our heart belong to?

“How can you say, ‘I love you,’ ” she told him, “when your heart is not with me?” (Judges 16:15)

Lots of irony in those words since Delilah’s heart was clearly not with Samson. Whatever love she may have had for him was clearly diluted by her love for money.

The same could be said for Samson’s love for Delilah, and for that matter, God.

And ultimately, that was Samson’s biggest problem: his diluted love for God. His heart never truly belonged to God.

I’d like to think he truly repented at the end. Did he? I don’t know. It seems that revenge was still at the top of his mind rather than the welfare of Israel.

He “judged” Israel. But he never truly cared for the sheep God had raised him up to care for. And I think his people sensed that. They certainly didn’t consider him someone they wanted to follow. (Judges 15:11-12)

How about us? Do our hearts truly belong to God? And do we truly love the people God has placed into our lives? (Matthew 22:36-40)