Hero Worship

3.2.2011

Mark 9:15 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him. NIV

It’s amazing the effect that Jesus had on people back then; they were so desperate for Someone to help them. Jesus was, to many of the people simply, a Hero, a Man of renown; a Superman of sorts. Before Jesus people just had to sit by and watch as a loved one got sick and probably died. If a loved one was possessed by an evil spirit the family shrugged their shoulders and said, “oh well…”.

But then Jesus showed up and said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4.18,19) And then He did what He said – and people were overwhelmed: A Hero is among us!!!

In Mark 9 something that looked like a crisis was happening between Jesus’ disciples and a man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit. So when the Boss came down from the mountain, the people were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet Him. Some were overwhelmed with wonder: I wonder if He can fix this. Some were overwhelmed with wonder: I wonder why His disciples can’t fix this. Personally, I wonder what the boy and his father were doing when everyone else ran off to meet and greet Jesus…

Life isn’t a circus; although at times it can certainly appear that way! Life is a gift from God and its sole purpose is to be used to get to know God; that He isn’t a genie, a superman, a hero; that God is infinitely more than all that. Heroes fall way short of God and life isn’t meant to be lived out in reaction to every crisis that comes along; life is meant to be lived in faith that God is, and we aren’t. Life is meant to be lived in humility that God is large and in charge and that He loves all regardless of their issues. And if invited to be, God will partner with us in life and show us that those issues we so often fear, are in reality very useful tools to enable us to get to know Him better. Hero worship falls way short because, unfortunately, heroes aren’t God and God isn’t simply a hero – God is God.

Father in Heaven,
Only You are God and may I live in awe of who You really are. May I learn to accept my circumstances – good or bad, self-inflicted or otherwise – as tools to help me grow in faith of who You really are: God; my God, and the only true and living God. Amen.