top of page

Day 10: What you were made for!

There I was, alone and embattled, defending my family home from an invasion of darkness that was sure to take over if I didn’t act. My focus is on the tree line in the back yard as the swing on the play set squeaks as it sways in the wind. Ready to pounce on the first bad guy who came through the bushes with my sword. My cape flowing softly in the wind. I wasn’t the hero we deserved, but I was the hero we needed. Well, something like that. In reality, I was 6 years old with a stick in my hand and a beach towel tied in a knot around my neck. You would be hard pressed to find a boy who grew up before the luxury of video games who didn’t pretend to be a hero or sports star day after day when their parents sent them out to play. You would also have a hard time finding little girls who didn’t play mother or tea party host to their dolls. 


We all were seemingly born with that desire to protect or nurture, or to be the person that the fans were relying on to come through in the last moment to deliver a victory. However, as we grew up, for many of us that was replaced with different desires. Things like education, careers, and entertainment took the place of heroics and impact. Don’t get me wrong, we still have families and have people who rely on us, but it is almost as if we have made that a sidebar to our life instead of the main story. 


What if I told you that you were created to be the hero? In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus comes right out and tells us that we are supposed to be people with great impact in our lives.


Matthew 5: 13 “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

We are not called to be side notes in the lives of those around us, we are supposed to be protagonists for their good! 

                  

When I was a kid, I thought the best way to be a hero was to fight the bad guys who were coming to capture. Well, that is kind of close but not in a man-to-man type of battle. Paul puts it more eloquently than I can in Ephesians.


Ephesians 6: 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Satan likes to get our focus on the antagonists around us and sometimes we forget that we are in a spiritual battle, and he is our greatest foe. 

                 

It is not hyperbole for me to say that we were born to be heroes! For those of us who have heard and accepted the Gospel, we have a hero’s calling to share the Gospel with the people God has placed in our lives! There was an old hymn that we used to sing growing up that was written by Fanny Crosby called “Rescue the perishing.” Here’s the first verse and chorus:


Rescue the perishing,

Care for the dying,

Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave;

Weep o’er the erring one, lift up the fallen,

Tell them of Jesus the mighty to save.


Rescue the perishing,

Care for the dying;

Jesus is merciful,

Jesus will save.


Our calling to be salt and light is the highest form of heroism in our world today. The fruit of our efforts are eternal! We have the message of Salvation that every person we encounter needs, and we were born (again) to share it!  Once you accepted the salvation that Jesus offered you were enlisted into the greatest hero coalition in the history of creation, the Lord’s army!

                  

Maybe you’re thinking today that you’re not the hero type. Maybe the thought of wielding the Sword of the Spirit in the battle against the armies of darkness gives you a little bump in blood pressure, makes your ears sweat, and kind of makes you nervous. Well, I have good news for you. Jesus talks about some heroes that will be welcomed to heaven upon His return in Matthew 25.


Matthew 25: 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

“What you did to the least of these, you did to me.” Church, it’s not all about being the tip of the spear in the war with Satan, though some are called to that, it is about being the hero to those around us who need a touch of love in the name of Jesus. 

                  

The world needs more heroes. Not the ones who the entertainment business keep re-peddling to earn a dollar, but heroes who nurture and protect those around them. Heroes who meet needs and share the love of Christ while doing it. For those of us who have accepted the salvation of Jesus, that is the calling we were made for. Today, let's pray that God will open our eyes to ‘the least of these.’ Let us pray for the courage and the heart to rescue the perishing and care for the dying, because Jesus is merciful and He will save. Let's be heroes!

bottom of page