Needing a Hero…

Recently I watched the move “The Guardian” (which is about Coast Guard rescue swimmers) at the recommendation of my brother-in-law Johnny (who is a Coast Guard helicopter mechanic who also rides third seat and operates the winch in the rescue helicopters). This movie really stirs up your emotions and also causes me to really respect the heroic actions of the men and women of our military. It raises in me a longing for a hero.

What is a hero? Well in this movie it is someone who ultimately sacrifices everything to rescue the person who is drowning or shipwrecked, etc. They undergo harsh training and long hours of exposure to the elements in order to be made ready/capable of doing their job of being a rescue swimmer… of being a hero. These people don’t get great pay or lots of recognition but they do the really important job of saving lives. In this particular movie at least one character dies so that they can save someone else’s life. Watching this gets a mixed reaction from me. First (of course) I cry… how sad that he had to die to rescue the other person. Second, I try to solve the situation that brought about his death… “What if they had just done… then no one would have had to die”. Third, I am filled with a sense of honor for the real hero’s in this world.

Then my mind turns to spiritual things. I know of a real hero. I too was rescued from spiritual death. My hero was Jesus. My hero had to undergo harsh training and long hours of exposure to the elements, as well as temptation and hardship as part of His preparation for the task of rescuing the lost ones. He had to sacrifice everything in order to fulfill His calling of being the Hero. He didn’t just leave some cozy house to jump into a freezing cold ocean to rescue peoples’ lives; He left Heaven and all His glory in order to come to earth to rescue peoples’ souls and to exalt the justice of God to His glory. He wasn’t one sinful guy dying to rescue another sinful guy, He was a sinless God/Man who would die to save the sinful guy and in the process make him righteous. He’s a Hero on a MUCH BIGGER LEVEL! He doesn’t just save a guy and set him loose to do his own thing; He saves him and makes him new. He gives him a new heart, new desires and the Holy Spirit to guide him, and then sets him loose into society to go out and rescue the perishing with His words of life, too.

Now remember my reaction to the movie? I have a similar reaction to these thoughts. First I am sad… how sad (on a much grander scale) that Jesus had to die to rescue/save me and all the rest of His sheep. Second, I try to solve it… “If we just hadn’t sinned in the garden…" (Stupid, I know). Third, I am filled with a sense of honor and respect for Jesus my hero… the REAL hero. But there are other effects, too. I am humbled that the mighty one, the perfect one would sacrifice so much to save one so worthless. I am filled with thanks and praise that my Heavenly Father would give up His Beloved Son Jesus to save us prodigal children: filthy, vile, rebellious, slanderous enemies that we were. I am reminded and as such encouraged in remembering that Jesus doesn’t save us and then leave us to return to our past lives of sin. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide and convict us, so I can trust that He is at work in me and the fellow believers around me… which puts to rest my fears and anxieties.

I am reminded of a few verses… Matthew 10:28 "Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” This reminds me that it’s not the physical that is so important but the spiritual and God is the one I am accountable to. As well as ... Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?" This reminds me that God was willing to send His own Son to be our Hero… so He’ll also send everything else that we need. He really is a finisher! He saves us fully and completes His work. What an awesome God we serve and what an awesome Hero, Jesus is!