This was a portion of a message that I gave to our church early in July that was based off of 2 Corinthians 12:2-10.
Who were the super heroes you looked up to as a kid?
My favorite was Wonder woman. I don’t know why it something about Linda Carter’s ability to blast away bullets with her wrist shields, fly away in her invisible plane, and wield truth with her golden lasso, made me want to run around the house and be just like her.
So if we look at some super heroes who do you relate to?
The Hulk - Has Strength
Dr Strange - Has Intelligence
Black Panther - Technology
Captain Marvel - Flight & Power
Wasp - can grow and shrink
Superman’s quote is “truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.”
And there are literally hundreds of these characters. Collectively many of them are called “The Avengers” & “Justice League” - So it’s not just one super hero - in order for us “Earthings” to be saved it is usually many of them working together. Not one of them comes with everything needed to complete a mission.
Similar threads can be within other super hero genres - Harry Potter, Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings. So how does this relate to Christianity?
Think about Spiritual Superheroes:
There are so many super heroes in the bible - here are a few
Moses - a prophet that saved people from slavery and wrote the Commandments
Noah who saved his family and animals by unwavering faith in a message he heard
Esther who used her position of power and prayer to save thousands from execution.
Paul - the person who wrote one of our readings today, did not begin liking Christians, then once he believed, nothing could take away his joy and passion.
Jesus - who produced so many miracles, a foundation of Christianity and truly our savior. The Superman quote that I mentioned is based off of something very close to what is stated in Jeremiah 22:16 - Jesus says “You have neglected the important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness.”
When you think about it and read further - these super heroes were not doing this all on their own.
Moses had his mother, his sister, and then those who found him
Noah surely had those in his family who believed him and helped in this monumental task
Esther - had her Uncle
Paul - had his family and the influence of Jesus, disciples and other spiritual leaders
Even Jesus - Mother Mary, Father Joseph, his Disciples, His Father in Heaven and numerous other supporters
All of these outstanding individuals that made an impact to their Faith, all had the strength in number behind them to carry them through their courageous acts.
There is an Olympic ad right now - that shows all these super athletes - and as they line up to the start, it’s not only them lining up - it’s their Mom, Dad, Uncles, Aunts, Friends, Coaches, Nutritionists, Doctors, Sponsors. As I was watching some of the qualifying events many of the athletes thank God first. Isn’t that awesome! They know that their dreams are not only made by their physical strength and certain sacrifice, along with an enormous support system and their unrelenting faith.
Who are your spiritual super heroes in your life and then who is standing behind YOU?