Today’s generation is hungry for heroes.

Illustration by Mr_Basmt

 

Transformed people transform people!

Our granddaughter, Jessica, was visiting recently from San Jose, California. She offered to accompany me to the movies. The Avengers is a kind of raucous, “save-the-world” story with comic book characters that have been around for more than half a century. Some reviewers have called the film “irresistibly tasty.” (Jessica had already seen it twice before so maybe they’re right.) Halfway through viewing it, however, I leaned over to Jessica and whispered, “I think this generation has lost its heroes.” She thought for a moment, then chuckled and said, “I think you’re right.”

We who are older have known heroes in our lifetime. Dwight Eisenhower. Rosa Parks. John Glenn. Ronald Reagan. Mom. Dad. Yep, Mom and Dad. If you were fortunate enough to have good parents, they heroically shaped your life with vision and character. In contrast, the major ‘heroes’ of today seem drawn primarily from the pop culture of sports and entertainment. The result is fantasy instead of vision and personality trumps character. If you think I’m being a bit harsh, perhaps I am. I looked at magazine covers while in the grocery check out line last week. And now I’m flush with “Avenger” comic book characters. It’s getting harder for everyday moms and dads and other real heroes of our world to compete.

 

In his short story, The Gray Champion, 31 year-old Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about civil unrest in the new city of Boston due to the pressures placed upon the settlers by England’s King James II. It’s one of my favorite stories for what it inspires. The king’s self-appointed governor decides to show the people his distaste for the New England and his dominance over them. He conducts a procession along the fledgling city’s main street, until “the gray champion,” someone unrecognized by the local townsfolk, confronts his entourage. He defies the governor’s arrogant and wrongful rule, becoming a symbol of hope and causing the ordinary Bostonians to stand up for themselves. The gray champion proves it is possible to do even greater things in the name of integrity and liberty. He also proves that one person can make an powerful difference. Was Hawthorne’s “gray champion” real? Or just a figment of a fertile imagination. You decide.

One thing I know for certain. Today’s generation is hungry for heroes. Real flesh and blood heroes, the kind of transformed people who transform people. Jesus people! Don’t underestimate the spiritual leverage you possess, the inspiration your life can be to others, be you farmer or fisherman, carpenter or coach, pastor or politician. “Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately” (2 Tim. 2:15).

 

I’M IN! Are you? Let’s be influencers together of the generations around us. Learn more about the need and how you can be part of God’s plan in your family, your church and your world. Join us in one of The CASA Network’s Influence the Generation events in 2012. Contact us for more information. Register right away. Jesus is calling his chosen gray champions!

 

 

 

Ward