The Power of Heroes

Humans love stories. We need the drama, the conflict resolution, the excitement. We want to lose ourselves in adventure. But we also need heroes. We want to root for them as they overcomes adversity or evil. There is a particular type of hero we love more than all others, and that tells us something about ourselves.

People die every day, so statistically celebrities are going to die regularly. Every once in a while, though, one will die that hits harder than most. It's interesting to listen to people talk about those. There are a lot of entertainers in the world. There are a few who really impact people. You will hear people talk about these in terms like "showed me what it means to be a hero."

Obviously, these actors are just people playing a role. They embody the role so well or so long that people can confuse them with the character, but the role is what people really respond to. What kind of role is it? It's usually a hero.

But not just any hero. There are lots of men in tights, or uniforms of various types, who have fought the bad guys on screens big and small. They may be good men or women, or they may simply be regular folks put in a hard situation. We even invented anti-heroes and gritty heroes, people who aren't really good people but get the job done by any means necessary.

However there are a few special heroes who don't just win. They do it with a character that inspires. They stay true to the highest ideals while saving the day. Batman will risk his life to save the little people, but he's ... tainted by his anger, his grief, and his violence.

We can't look up to him the way we can to a Superman, Captain America, or Optimus Prime. We need heroes whose character inspire us as much as their actions. We need heroes who make us want to be better people. We need heroes who show us how to be better people.

All of these characters, consciously or unconsciously, are modeled after Jesus.

He is the one person in all of history who acted with a truly pure motive. His is the kindness, gentleness, and humility they demonstrate. He lived and acted based on the highest ideal, and he is the original self-sacrificing hero. He's the hero we're really looking for, the one we really need.

Here's the good news. You will never leap tall buildings in a single bound, run a two-minute mile, or change into a truck, but you can be just like Jesus. That is literally God's plan for your life.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)

In God's mind, it's already as good as done. And yet we have work to do. We have to put off the old self and put on the new self (Eph 4:22-24). It will not be easy, but we're not alone. The Holy Spirit works with us and in us to conform us to the image of Christ.

Deep down this is what we aspire to be. This is what we were made for. So,

let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

 
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