Who is your Hero?

No, seriously, who?

The thing is, many of our heroes are fairly, well, ‘safe’. ‘My Dad’ is a common response. ‘Thierry Henry’ (Arsenal’s top goal scorer of all time) said my friend.

The word ‘hero’ is banded around all the time in our society. The hit TV series ‘Heroes’ was seen by over 480 million people! Deep down, people long for a real hero. My online dictionary says that heroes are admired for ‘courage’ or ‘noble qualities’. Really? Is that all? I find myself wanting more than that.

I would argue that we have lost the concept of what a real hero is. Real heroes are those who are truly extraordinary. Someone to aspire to, to truly imitate, who takes us beyond ourselves and causes us to reach higher than we could on our own.

 

 

Perhaps there just aren’t as many people around today who fit the bill. Even the people I often seek to emulate today are often those who have their own heroes.  

 

 

As a Christian I can shy away from this idea as well. ‘Oh, I’m not supposed to have heroes, that’s idolatry. And anyway, Jesus is supposed to be my only hero’.

And yet the Bible tells us to have heroes! Hebrews 13:7 says “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith”

Remember…

Consider…

Imitate …

We are called to imitate men and women who teach us, through their words and through their lives, that there is something worth living and dying for. Who go against the prevailing culture of false heroes, superficial entertainment, empty promises and feeble desires. Who summon us to a cause that is far more exciting, fulfilling and satisfying than anything this world can offer.  

Two of my real heroes, Hudson Taylor and Jim Elliott, were missionaries who gave their lives that people might hear the good news of the Gospel. As I remember them and consider them, I thank God that these two men still speak to me and compel me to imitate them in living wholeheartedly for Jesus.

So who is your hero..........seriously? Will you remember them, consider them, and then go in God’s strength and imitate them?

 

"Unless there is the element of extreme risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith".

                                                                                                                                       Hudson Taylor

"God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life and may I burn for Thee. Consume my life, my God, for it is Thine. I seek not a long life, but a full one, like you, Lord Jesus".

                                                                                                                                        Jim Elliot