Heroes

                Recently, I started watching the first season of the TV show Heroes on Netflix. (I realize that I’m a couple years behind.)   If you have not watched the show, it is about a group of people that realize they have special powers.  These individuals are busy with their normal lives and then, suddenly, they can do things that normal human beings cannot do.  One guy can time travel.  Another can read minds.  One girl can instantly heal, think Wolverine.  All of them are then thrust into an epic scenario in which they must save the world.

                What sticks out most to me about these people, however, are not their amazing powers.  There are many TV shows and movies that depict people with amazing powers.  What jumps off the screen about these people is that, even with all their special ability, they still struggle with the same problems that all of us face.  One is having marriage trouble.  Another is battling the pressures of high school popularity.  These “heroes” are not all that different from us.

                I have also been reading the book of Genesis.  My hope is to read the entire way through the Bible, but at the rate I’m going it could take a few years.  Anyway, the book of Genesis is filled with Bible heroes.  These are men, and sometimes women, that many of us have learned about since we were little.  Sunday School lessons are filled with the adventures of Noah, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph.  Their stories make for exciting children’s material.  We are taught to look up to these men and emulate their great acts, and we should.  However, those Sunday School lessons often do not give the full picture of these men.  Just like the “heroes” from the TV show these Bible “heroes” were often far from perfect and often struggled with the same issues with which we struggle.

                I remember when I was first enlightened to this a few years ago.  I was sitting in an airport in Manila, Philippines, very tired from a long flight over the Pacific and almost insane from way to many games of Bang!, a card game.  Our group leader, Skip, asked us to read the story of Samson, Judges 13-16.  He then led us into a discussion about the reality that, even though Samson is incredibly sinful, his exploits are a major part of every Sunday School curriculum.  This was an eye opener.  I had never looked much at the immorality of our Bible heroes.  All those years of Sunday School, Bible heroes were presented as perfect humans.

                After that experience, though, I didn’t think much more of this issue until recently, probably because the next two weeks were filled with an incredible mission’s trip in the Philippines.  Then, a month ago, my friend, Ben, brought this back to the forefront of my mind with his blog post on Genesis 9.   Ben discusses the story of Noah getting drunk.  This story takes place after God has brought Noah through the flood.  Even with all that Noah had experienced, he still falls into the sin of drunkenness and exposes himself, what a great example that is for a Bible hero.

                Finally, as I started my own study of Genesis, I saw many more examples of sinful heroes.   Abraham lies about being married to Sarah, twice.  (Genesis 12 and 20) Abraham struggles with doubts about God’s promise (Genesis 15) and takes matters into his own hands. (Genesis 16)  Isaac lies about being married to Rebekah. (Genesis 26)  I could fill an entire post with the sins of Jacob.  All these men are Bible heroes.  All these men struggled and sinned.

                What then is the point of all my ramblings?  Should we no longer study these men and tell our children their stories? No way! These were great men, who God used to do great things.  God has preserved their stories through many centuries for us to read.

                The accounts of these men’s sinful actions show us one very important thing.  Our Bible heroes are extraordinarily . . . ordinary.  The point is that these men are no different from us.  They had the same struggles and they were just as messed up and sinful as us.  God makes it clear that it was He working through these men to do great things. 

                This is a wonderful truth.  I don’t know about you but I am abundantly aware of my sinfulness.  It is easy to feel that I am so screwed up that God can never use me.  The great news is that God uses screwed up sinful people every day.  We do not need to reach a certain height of spiritualness before we can be used by God.  Even in the middle of our messed up lives, God can do amazing things.  As long as we are striving to serve God, he can, and will, use us.

                I do need to note that this does not give us license to just keep living sinfully.  We are called to strive for perfection. (Matthew 5:48)  God is working to make us like Christ. (2 Corinthians 3:18)  The point is that growing to holiness is a process and God uses along the way, even though we often mess up.

                In conclusion, be encouraged.  Your Bible heroes were not perfect.  They were much closer to being like you then they were to being like Christ.  There is a great God, however, who uses sinful men and women to do great things for his glory.  Seek to be used of God today, even as you are dealing with the sins and struggles in your life.  You may find that, in service to God, you also find deliverance from your struggles.

                Not to dampen the mood but I must finish with a few questions.  Do we need to change how we teach children these Bible stories?  When do we show them the imperfections in these heroes?  Do we do them a disservice if we never show them that Bible heroes are not perfect?