Last week, I took a trip to the movie theater here in Waco to see the new Brad Pitt film, “Fury.” It was a well-made movie, with a great storyline and amazing character development. The story follows a tank during World War II called “Fury” and its' working crewmen in their fight to intercept an incoming wave of Germans who were heading towards an American supply depot. The movie ends with the men sacrificing themselves in order to stop this surge of Germans. I only had one question after watching this particular film:
What is a hero?
The Webster Dictionary gives several definitions of the word hero, but I found this one most interesting. It states, “a hero is a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability.”
Can anyone be a hero?
Well, according to The Webster Dictionary that answer would be no. We would have to depend on some “gifted” being to descend upon us and show us grace, while leading us and saving us from worlds of hurt and our planets' utter destruction. This sounds a little to me like the plot of Superman.
To me, everyone has the capability of being a hero— maybe not in the sense of the saving-the-world kind, but heroes do exist. They are out there. We are out there, just waiting to swoop in and save someone’s day.
Growing up, superheroes were a very large part of my childhood. I always wanted to be one— I sometimes still do. When I was a boy, I thought being a hero meant that everyone liked you because you saved their lives and because you were a nice guy. As I matured I came to realize, heroes are much more than that.
Heroes, in my eyes, are men and women who are sacrificial; they put others needs and priorities before themselves— even if that means the hero suffers for the other person.
You don’t need a cape to be a hero. You don’t need tights or a mask. You just need a caring heart, a selfless attitude and a servanthood-like approach.
Being a hero isn’t easy, but nobody ever said that it would be.
Many of us would view Jesus Christ as the ultimate hero. He is someone who was servant-like and put Himself in the way of danger in order to save our souls from eternal damnation. That’s a pretty heroic act if you ask me. With Christ as our role model of how to be a hero, we know how to perform selflessly in many situations.
When you take the time to help someone carry groceries because they are too heavy, I consider you a hero. When you take the time to help someone study because you care enough about that person to help them, I consider you a hero. When you listen to others and comfort them when they are weak, I consider you a hero. When you take the time to help fix whatever is broken in their life, I consider you a hero.
So I want to ask you all one question. It’s rather simple. Are you going to live your life as a hero? I know I’m going to!
