Hero is a word we hear a lot these days. It’s a headline grabbing title that is used to push the deeds of ordinary people into the spotlight. If you envision great deeds performed by extraordinary people, you will be disappointed soon after you get past the headlines. They act (or react) at the right moment to help someone in distress or save someone from harm. Surely their deeds are worthy of recognition, but do they gain hero status with one great deed? Should we settle for one-deed heroes?
The label is also applied to athletes who perform game-winning plays or to businessmen whose skills save businesses and people’s jobs. If fame and fortune are their motivations, are they really heroes?
Whatever happened to unselfish, purposeful sacrifice for the good of others? Heroes don’t have to be harmed, but the willingness to give of oneself seems to be an attribute we have forgotten. Consider that most Medals of Honor are given posthumously.
To “give honor to whom honor is due,” implies that we should not give honor when it is not due. We have real heroes and don’t have to lower our standards to find them. They don’t seek recognition but giving honor “honors” both the giver and receiver.
In most of the world’s troubled spots you will find Missionaries and their families sacrificing themselves for others. I met Rick and Lurece Shell in the Philippines, where they traveled into the jungle to preach and teach. Many years later they followed the call to Cambodia, where danger, sickness and disease were much closer than help or protection. Rick passed away shortly after discovering he had cancer. Lurece lost her husband, and his children lost their father. Rick and his family are heroes.
What about Iranians who accept Jesus outside of their country and then go back to Iran to share the “Good News” with others? They face persecution, imprisonment, torture, and death, but must return to tell their family and friends about the good news they have found. Surely, they are well qualified heroes.
I know another hero, who made the ultimate sacrifice for people He had never met and many who didn’t appreciate what he did. He gave up a life of comfort to live in humble surroundings and suffer pain and humiliation. He submitted himself to people who should have bowed at his feet. He taught those who would listen, saved, and healed those who believed. When they tortured, mocked, and brutally killed him, he forgave them. JESUS is that hero.
Wayne Lance – That’s Good News to Share!