Why I like: Judges

So I just finished reading Judges, and I have one overlying thought. Here it is:

Honestly, what is Samson doing in Hebrews 11?

He would not be counted in my heroes of the faith, had I such a list. His life was brutal, ugly, and chock full of missed opportunities and sinful dalliances with foreign women. And yet, he's in there with Gideon and Jepththah and Barak, who all did mostly good things. I don't get it.

It's not that Samson didn't do good things. It's just that he did mostly bad things, as recorded by the author of Judges, at least. I would have rather put Daniel in there. He makes more sense to me.

To me, putting Samson in there is almost as bad as if the author of Hebrews had put Jonah in there. Not quite as bad, but still.

On the up side, it makes me feel better about my life. If Samson, with all his chaotic, sin-riddled life could still please God with his faith, how much more can I please God with faith?

It just seems to me that if you have faith, you would do good things. Because I usually feel more prone to doing good things in the right motivation when I have faith that God is going to do what he says he will do. I guess that Samson's faith and Samson's actions were somehow separate.

Or, alternately, how much more great would Samson's actions have been if his faith was stronger?

The mind boggles.