Our nation is beginning to realize that it takes more than being able to catch, hit or throw a ball to make someone a hero. Americans still pay out big bucks to see our ball-players, but we have begun to include those who protect our cities and homes from crime, fire and terrorism as the real heroes of our day.
Webster defines a hero as a person “admired for noble qualities; someone of distinguished valor or performance.” Our growing-up-years give us some exposure to heroic acts. We often form role models during those years, and this is the very reason we must be wise in choosing our heroes.
God has had plenty of heroes from the beginning, and their athletic skills were not the reason He respected and loved them. Consider the following:
“She hath done what she could”
Most of us will not be called upon to save 200 people in a hijacked airliner, or rescue thousands in collapsed buildings. We perform our daily chores without fanfare or glory. One day Jesus encountered a woman in Bethany who anointed Him with an expensive ointment. One man with Jesus criticized the “waste,” but Jesus responded saying:
- “Let her alone…She hath done what she could… Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her,” Mark 14:7-9.
She did “what she could,” and that was enough for Jesus. God never expects more of us than we are capable of doing, but He does demand that! It was Jesus who said, “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required,” Luke 12:48. That is a trademark of God’s heroes: they take advantage of every opportunity to live up to their capabilities.
“There hath not arisen a greater…”
Some are given tasks and responsibilities that are almost impossible to accomplish. Such could be said of John, the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth. He was destined to do great deeds, but he was also to see more pain than acclaim. He was the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy, being the forerunner of God’s Son, man’s redeemer, Isaiah 40:3. Different in dress, diet and purpose, he lived in the deserted lands of Palestine, but when the time came for him to fulfill his task, he served as one of God’s heroes. Jesus gave His assessment of John in Matthew 11:10-11:
- “This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist:”
“My servants, the prophets…”
This term is found 19 times from 2 Kings to Revelation, and as a term of endearment it may be beyond our meager ability to comprehend. How can one who is called a “servant” be a hero to God?
Remember how hero is defined—one “admired for noble qualities.” Think of Nathan, who was given the task of rebuking King David. Think of Elijah, whose nobility is in sharp contrast to the character of Ahab and Jezebel. What about Micaiah, who refused to be a “yes-man” for Ahab; and Amos, who traveled from Judah, seeking to bring Israel back from the throes of idolatry. Or Jeremiah, who wept over the sins and the impending doom of Judah. Noble qualities indeed!
“The world was not worthy”
An entire chapter (Hebrews 11) is devoted to those who, at some point in their life, exhibited great faith. Included in that chapter are Abraham, Noah, Moses, Joseph, Gideon and others. They were not always a hero to their peers, and were even exposed to insults and death. But God said of such men and women, “The world was not worthy” of them. Worldly men thought God’s servants were not even worthy to live in their world, but they were wrong—dead wrong!
God’s hero today rescues those who are lost in sin. Will you be one of His heroes?
