In Shrek 2 Princess Fiona is looking for a hero to come and rescue her from the mighty dragon. As this armored “hero” comes rushing to her rescue we hear the lyrics from a song entitled “Holding out for a Hero.” In that song we find these words “I need a hero, I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light. He’s gotta be sure and it’s gotta be soon and he’s gotta be larger than life.” While everyone expects the hero to be Prince Charming we come to find out that the true hero in the movie is an ugly looking, but lovable ogre named Shrek.

It does seem that everyone is looking for a hero. While it is certainly found in sports and entertainment, this aspect of looking for a hero is making it’s way into the events of the world and even into religious circles. Using books such as Joseph Campbell’s Hero Has a Thousand Faces as well as movies such as The Lord of the Rings, these individuals are interested in examining the hero myth and how it affects our faith. To be honest with you, all of this “hero myth” stuff is over my head, yet the one thing I can see in all of this is the fascination with heros. Since there has been great interest in hero’s, maybe we should ask the question what is a hero? Webster’s defines a hero as “remarkably brave person or who has shown an admirable quality such as great courage or strength of character.”

Now, yes Shrek the ogre hero was able to save Princess Fiona and yes Superman can stop a speeding bullet, but to be honest they can’t change my life. The type of hero that I am looking for are the ones who are willing to be a light in the world that others can see and live by. It just so happens that our VBS theme for this year is Hero Headquarters—where we join forces with God. During VBS, we will meet five unlikely heroes who are often overlooked. In fact, we don’t know a single one of their names! They were not the famous type of heroes that you and I might expect to encounter. Rather these were simple ordinary individuals who were willing to be used by God to do wonderful things. And it is the same with us! The more I come to know God the more I discover that He simply desires that we live our lives for God, walking hand in hand with Christ.

Probably the greatest statement on what a hero is came from Arthur Ashe who said: “True heroism is remarkable sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever the cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost.” It is easy to look at society to affirm one’s worth, yet isn’t it more important to constantly reaffirm and redefine our identity with Jesus Christ and measure ourselves only against Him. When I look at our Savior and how he was willing to serve out of love for others, that compels me to live a life of service to Him and others out of love. Come to think of it. The only person that can be considered a “true hero” is our Savior who taught us to do nothing in our own glory but in humility to treat others as more important than ourselves. That’s my hero. Is He yours?

Grace and Peace,

Chris

Mailing Address and Office Location:
1800 West Broad Stree,t Elizabethtown, NC 28337
Phone: 910.862.4538

Service times: Sunday 10:00 am Connection Classes, Sunday@ 11:00 am Worship,
Wednesday @ 7:00 p.m. WOW, Wednesday @ 7:00 p.m. Supper

We invite you to join the excitement as we Connect to Christ and One Another