All of us have had and do have heroes. And there have been some very deserving ones at that. There have been heroes of the battlefield who sacrificed their own safety and lives for others. Personally, I always get a little lump in my throat when I see the Missing Man formation of the United States Air Force in honor of a fallen comrade (and I’ve seen Navy pilots do the same). There have been great heroes in sports who achieved greatness without sacrificing their integrity. There are heroes from all walks of life, men and women alike, who accomplish great things, not for the glory they received, but because it was the right thing to do.
Some heroes are heroes for the wrong reasons. They become heroes because of something they do or say that, on the surface, people like. It seems the right thing to do, but it’s really not. A popular theme in movies is to make a hero of someone who seeks his own revenge. We see him suffer some great tragedy and then cheer him on as he takes his revenge on those who wronged him. We cheer for justice, we think, but we make a hero of someone who acted in direct violation of Romans 12:19: “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” When we cheer on such “heroes,” we should ask ourselves: Is that really what we want our children to grow up to be?
I have to confess, I’ve had my share of bad heroes. And it’s still a temptation to cheer for someone who takes his own revenge. But, I’ve had some good ones, too! One of my longest running heroes is J. M. McCaleb. You may not know who this great man was, but that’s OK because I’m going to tell you a little about him. Brother McCaleb wrote the song, “The Gospel Is for All.” He believed what he wrote and toward the end of the nineteenth century, he became a missionary to Japan. His work is one of the very few missionary works of the churches of Christ to survive from that century.
Many of you are my heroes. Others of you might very well be if I knew you better, personally. Some of you are people I have known most or all of my life. You have been examples to me of faithful men and women of God. You have taught me (formally in a classroom and informally in your example) about what it means to be a Christian. I say, without reservation or hesitation, you are my heroes.
Who are your heroes? Who do you find yourself wanting to be like? Who do you want your children to be like? You may not believe it, but your heroes can easily become your children’s heroes. Who is the topic of conversation around the supper table at your house? Do you talk about someone you know who has done something admirable? Or do you joke about someone “getting away with” something you wish you could get away with?
One of my favorite verses of Scripture is about some of my biblical heroes: “And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.” (Hebrews 11:32-38).
Let me encourage you to talk about and think about these heroes. Teach your children to imitate the Christ-like qualities of these great men and women (and others you can name, see 1 Corinthians 11:1). Oh, and let’s not forget our number one Hero: Jesus Christ Himself. Remember the words of Paul when he spoke of those who refused to make God their Hero. He said they had “…exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them” (Romans 1:23, 24).
Having heroes is very encouraging. A discouraged person is a person who doesn’t have any heroes or isn’t thinking about them enough. Who is your Hero? God wants to be. He loves you and so do I.
Donnie Bates