Be a Hero

Our senior pastor was out today, so Brother Mark filled in as he has on so many occasions. I always like listening to Brother Mark preach, because he mixes humor with just the right amount of reality and he always has a great message to his madness. This morning was no different.

Amoung all the points he had to his morning message, the one thing that stuck out to me was when he talked about heroes. He talked about Hollywood heroes, political heroes, heroes from the past, and, finally, Christian heroes and heroes in our own church. He stated that we should all have heroes and that we should acknowledge these heroes and let them know why they are our heroes or what they did that made them our heroes. Heroes, to Brother Mark, are a good thing, as long as they remain heroes, and we don't elevate them to idols. But, I digress.

After listening to his sermon, I began to think about the real meaning of heroes. Heroes are people that other people look up to because of who they are or what they've done, especially in ways that effect those that consider them heroes. The more I thought about the importance of heroes, the more I agreed that we all need heroes in our lives. And the more I though that we all need heroes, the more I realized that I already had heroes, and alway have had them throughout my life. But, that's a story for another time.

Another thing dawned on me when it comes to heroes. I believe, with all of my heart, that each and every one of us should strive to be a hero to someone else. Whether it's a relative, a friend, a co-worker, or a perfect stranger, we can all be heroes in one way or another. We can all do special things for others. We can all treat others as we want to be treated. We can live our lives in a way that others will notice and want to emulate. And we can all love one another with the love of the Greatest Hero, Jesus Christ.

So, I'm challenging everyone to not only recognize, acknowledge and appreciate the heroes in your lives, but to become one as well. I'm going to challenge everyone to start living a hero's life. Start this very moment living a life that touches others in ways that will change their lives and make them take notice. And, most importantly, do your level best to emulate the Greatest Hero. If you strive to live like Christ, you'll surely be a hero to many more than you know.