Heroes. Movies are full of them. Captain America, Woody and Buzz, Optimus Prime, Neo, … I could go on and on. A movie HAS to have a hero, otherwise we just don’t really care to see it. There are also heroes in the real world too. Our men and women in the armed services who have fought for our freedoms, police and firemen who have protected us. Based on our culture’s thought process, you might think you have to be something special to be a hero. The first definition of hero on dictionary.com says: “a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities.” That seems to fit the bill. But then there is also the second definition: “a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal: He was a local hero when he saved the drowning child”.
I’m guessing that most of us men would not consider ourselves to be heroic based on these definitions. Perhaps you’ve led a rough life and don’t think much of yourself. Or maybe your life has been pretty steady and you just haven’t done anything you would consider special. All that heroic talk is for others, you think. But that would be a bold faced lie! For the moment that you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, He gave you a power that is greater than anything you could ever imagine. Since Vital Men started several years ago, there has been an amazing amount of hero work going on. Men who brought food, supplies, toothpaste, and coffee to the homeless by the Des Moines river. Men who have given their time to help build ramps, roofs, and trim trees. Men who have given away their own Bible to a stranger who needed one. Men who have loved their wives and their children in powerful ways. I could go on and on. Jesus’ church is alive and well here. You men, are heroes, and can continue to be. Paul thanked God for the church in Colossae because their faith guided their actions and the gospel message spread!
Colossians 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
I know that God is moving in this place. He is working in all of us and through us. The gospel of Jesus, the good news for all of us, is needed sorely by this world we live in. Jesus is my hero. When people ask me which celebrity I would most like to meet, there is only one I can answer. Jesus. I want to meet Jesus in Heaven so badly. I know that I am a broken and hurting man, but with Jesus, I have power and healing! So I encourage you all to keep up the work of loving all of God’s people. Be a hero. All of us are broken and need to know that Our Savior lives and loves us deeply. He wants to use you to spread that message.
For His Renown
Dale