Vertical News – December 2008

My Hero

What are heroes? What do they do? And do such people really exist?

Someone who does a profound act of self-sacrifice on a grand scale is certainly a hero. Such a person shows outgoing concern for others and uses his or her position to do great, good things.

In today's society "hero" is frequently used to describe athletes, actors, musicians, public servants, activists and political figures. The American entertainment industry is enamored with "superhero" subjects in comic books, movies and even a television series called Heroes.

Using "hero" too often can render it meaningless. But I think that can be fixed by sorting out genuine heroes from fakes and distinguishing mere humans from the actual greatest hero ever to live on the earth.

Athletes and media idols are sometimes good, kind people. Some of them even overcome injuries or hardship to make giant salaries each year. But most of them aren't heroes; they just make lots of money and get media coverage.

Activists and political figures aren't always called heroes; sometimes they are referred to as saviors and miracle workers. Some do great things and sincerely work to help others and are a credit to their nations. There are those, however, who just promise great things and talk about sincerity when all they really want is power. The bottom line is, they are just human beings limited to human capabilities.

On the other hand, there is a group of public servants, for example firefighters, who lay their lives on the line to help others. Some of these do indeed qualify as true human heroes. Likewise, our parents often sacrifice a long portion of their lives to raise, instruct and provide for us, qualifying them as heroes also.

As for "superheroes," those are works of fiction. They fuel our interest in heroism and are fun to watch if they don't delve too much into the dark side, but they can't qualify as real heroes.

Now consider the greatest Hero ever. Note some of the things He did:

1. Lived a human life without sinning even once (great achievement).
2. Fought off the influences and destructive attempts of the author of evil (brave deeds).
3. Healed the mentally and physically sick (noble actions and outgoing concern for others).
4. Created the universe and the earth before His human existence (more great achievements).
5. Served as the protagonist of the Bible (main male character of a story).
6. Sacrificed His human life when He was painfully executed in order to free His human creation from the bonds of eternal death (self-sacrifice on a grand scale).
7. Was resurrected as a spirit being to reign as the Son of God (uses His position to do good and great things).

He is Jesus Christ.

The best part of the story is that He will be coming back to earth again as the real Savior and miracle worker to do more brave deeds and achieve even greater things. To better understand His sin-free life, read "A Sinless and Miraculous Life."

For more details on His biography and those of other heroes, heroines and their archnemeses, please read your Bible. And to help you better understand the Bible, keep reading Vertical Thought for insightful and instructive articles on this and other practical biblical topics.

In the meantime, measure all potential heroes against the ultimate Hero, Jesus Christ. Respect, admire and honor those who can stack up in some way, but save hero worship for the true heroes–Jesus Christ and God the Father.

Keep thinking vertically!
Amanda Stiver