We Need A Hero

I grew up reading comic books. My very first one was a copy of the Teen Titans that I bought at a local convenient store while visiting friends. It was so cool to see the bad guys losing. The heroes always won back in those days.

I remember reading my first copy of Superman and wanting to fly. Reading Batman made me want to become a detective and to be able to throw Batarangs with precision. I have a Batarang but I do not throw it in fear that I will lose it if I miss the target. Reading the Justice League made me laugh at times as I would look at Green Arrow shooting an arrow at a villain and see it turn into a punching glove in the next panel. Yeah…dislike me if you must. I am a DC fan.

Those days are gone sadly. Comics are just as dark today as the news. I still enjoy them to a degree today but they do not hold the same hero mold of ole.

As I started playing golf with my dad we would watch, whenever possible, the tournaments on TV. It was awesome watching Tom Watson, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicholson, Calvin Peete, Andy North, Payne Stewart and Shreveport native Hal Sutton. They became my role models. I tried to incorporate their swing or putting stroke into my game.

As hard as I tried though I could not for the life of me match Andy’s swing, Tom’s chip or Peete’s accuracy in the fairway. The reason for this is simple…I am not them. But those were my heroes of the game.

As I look at all the issues going on in the world today I have found myself wondering, where are all the real heroes?

I guess I need to look past my childish version of what a hero means. No one, in real life can be a Batman, Superman or Wonder Woman. It’s just not humanly possible to be those types of heroes.

But what is a hero? Who can be classified as one?

Webster says that a hero is person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. It seems as if courage is at the heart of heroes.

So what exactly is courage? It is the ability to face difficulty, danger, pain without fear. It also means to act in accordance with ones beliefs, especially in spite of criticism.

Is FEAR the reason we do not hear about heroes? 

I know I have a lot of fears. The fear of failure has been an issue to me for a lot of my life because I kept screwing things up. I have courage because I know for certain that I would protect my ex-wife and children by placing my body in front of impending physical danger. But the fear I am referencing to is the fear of stepping out of our comfort zones and actually making a difference is someone’s life.

Do we truly realize how many people are out there in this world hurting like crazy? Many of them, not knowing if they have the will power to continue along in their journey called life. Sadly, no one is truly reaching out to them. Hence, the suicidal rate being what it is.

What about those who suffer in silence? You know the ones who are always saying everything is ok; yet looking at them you know for a fact that everything is NOT ok. Who are their heroes?

The answer is us, dear brother and sister in Christ. We are the light in this dark and dying world.

Did you know that you can actually share the Gospel of Christ with a gay person and not become gay yourself? Shocker, right?

You know, you can actually share that same message with a homeless person, the man or lady at the bar, your coworker, your boss or your neighbor. It is possible. But, we must become people of courage who are not afraid of getting out of our comfort zones. We must be willing to share our stories with others.

Now, will these folks have questions about your faith and God? Heck yeah they will!

And to be able to answer those questions you must be standing firm in your faith. That comes by hitting your knees in prayer and reading your Bible. You cannot share something you do not have knowledge of. Head knowledge will only get you so far. It must come from the heart.

Come on friends. Let us stay alert to the needs of the souls that surround us daily. Let us be strong and courageous and get out of our comfort zones and share the Gospel. We can be heroes by standing firm in our faith and giving people hope.

1 Corinthians 16:13

Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong

Originally posted on August 24th, 2015