Our Hero Setting

Ever notice how many stories are created that involve one person rebelling against the opposing world, thus eventually shifting into some sort of illustrious champion? First they have to do something, anything, to grab the attention of the high-held power figure in order to raise awareness for some good cause. Then one by one they win over the hearts of the masses, drawing them together as a team, and ultimately destroying the evil force, sometimes with "true" love and peace, and so on and so forth. The Hunger Games, Mylo Xyloto, the Dark Knight trilogy, and even MLPFIM are a few modern examples that carry such themes.

If you're like me, you can't get enough of those action packed tales of bravery and justice. You like having someone to edge-on, to get angry at, to cry with, to encourage, to grow with, and even to fall in love with. Even though this character is fiction and cannot actually hear you when you screaming at your book or tv, he/she still creates something in us that feels real.

Jesus was like that. Like the rest of the stories he was just an ordinary guy who was destined to revolt the ways of the world, knowing that he would get love and support from his fans, and then executed by his own people. Jesus says we need to be like him.

We look at other characters such as Harry Potter, Thor, Finn, and Lara Croft and think, man, do I wish I could do what they can do. If anything, these characters are completely unrealistic. What fiction stories tend to get right is how terrible the world is. No, we all haven't become mindless robots serving a big fat man who electrocutes us every time we say something he doesn't like, but we do have a complex system that tries to shut down our morals, blot out truth, and make our selfish desires seem like the right thing to do. If we, the ordinary human beings, choose to take a stand against such foolishness, we are not likely to succeed by having everyone cheering for us. We could inspire people by the thousands, we could influence many to turn away, we could take over the world with smiles and unicorns. Quite the contrary, it is likely that people will hate you, tear you down, and do horrible things to you. It could happen. Persecution is to be expected, after all. This is why everyone is so scared to fight, because of what everyone else might think, say, or do that could hurt them. But please, ladies and germs:

What are you so scared of?

Are people really all that intimidating? Is this going to matter a week from now? Is God's protection just not good enough?

No. No. No.

Whatever it will look like for you to be a hero? Well, that's for God to decide. Don't be scared. Answer the call today.