"Some people want to be heroes and some have to be asked..."
- Sarah Walker, Chuck
-I agree with that to a point.
I would argue that the idea of being a hero is very appealing to many, but when it comes to it…it's easier to not step out of your comfort zone and if we were asked a lot of us would probably say no because the risk is too big. Of course there are different accidents, disasters and situations when heroes emerge for doing the right thing.
What if I told you the day we asked Jesus to be our Savior, He called us to be heroes. 2 Corinthians 2:16 (NIV) says, "But we have the mind of Christ." Jesus Christ gave us the mind of the Holy Spirit whom we have at all times. In Beth Moore's Whispers of Hope- Day 62 referencing the Holy Spirit Beth says, "He also provides the brains behind the operation." The Holy Spirit is present to lead and guide us in our daily lives. Mark 15:16 (NIV) says, "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation." Did you see that ALL CREATION- that includes everyone, whether here or oversees. You may be thinking that doesn't make me a hero. When I think of what a hero means, I see someone who is saving someone or something- and it doesn't necessarily mean literally saving a life- saving a job, surprise party from being ruined, raising children, teaching, doctors, dentists, janitors, trash truck drivers, engineers, whatever…most things we do have either a positive or negative effect. As Christians we are called and made for more than those examples of heroes…we are dealing with eternity.
Eternity is what we are dealing with. Good and evil lasting forever. God vs. Satan. So when we go into the world and share the Gospel with others we are playing a part in leading others to Christ, which if they accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior they are eternally saved and join our mission team. Ultimately Jesus does the saving, but we are agents in the process. You may be thinking- I'm just a no one, how am I supposed to save others, that seems like a lot of pressure-. There are 3 big things the Lord has given us: the Holy Spirit (mentioned earlier), the Fruit of the Spirit, and the Armor of God.
1) Holy Spirit. "And you were also included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit"- Ephesians 1:13 (NIV). We have the Holy Spirit, which is huge. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be with us after He "physically left" the earth. I personally think the Holy Spirit often gets the name of conscious. The Holy Spirit will nudge us to go in the God-honoring direction and stay away from the path of destruction. The Holy Spirit also provides us each with different gifts. 1 Corinthians 12 has many great examples, and I just want to highlight verses 4-7, "Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God is active in everyone and everything. A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person to produce what is beneficial: (HCSB)" We have all been given different gifts to help in our mission to bring the world to Christ.
2) Fruit of the Spirit. "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (NASB)." The Lord has given us all of these gifts. These will help us show His love to others in good times as well as times filled with conflict or disappointment. Even when we're angry we can show God's love by being gentle and having self-control and using different fruits. We can spread love by our actions and how we interact with others, and these are some of the many gifts He has given us.
3) Armor of God. The armor of God is found in Ephesians 6:10-18. A quick rundown of the pieces of armor we have are the following: the best of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, sandals of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, sword of the Spirit and the power of prayer. So the majority of the armor are used as defensive agents, except for the sword of the Spirit. The hidden weapon is prayer, and I'd like to argue that prayer can be both. You can pray for both defense and offensive things, but I'd say prayer is like a secret weapon. All of these can help us either defeat the enemy and draw closer to our Lord and Savior.
I want to leave you with a few quotes from Beth Moore's Study on this, to help us think:
"The more we partake of the things of the Spirit, the more we begin to think like the Spirit…"
"We are finite beings of frail human flesh occupied by the Spirit of the supernatural, all-powerful, all-present, all-knowing Godhead."
"Let's begin asking God daily to quicken the mind of Christ in us so that, like the great apostle Paul, we can supernaturally understand, 'what God has freely given us.'"-> aka the Spirit.
I believe that there's a part of us that want's to be the hero, and the scary thing is, we have that chance! God has asked us to be heroes and help bring the world to Him. The awesome thing is, He has provided us with all that we need!
"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." - Matthew 28: 19-20
