Today’s generation is hungry for heroes.

 

HEROES

WE WHO ARE TODAY’S ELDERS     
have known some real 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. A bit harsh? Perhaps. It’s getting harder for everyday moms and dads and grandparents and other real heroes of our world to compete.

 

IN WHAT IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE                
Hawthorne short stories, The Gray Champion, 31 year-old Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about civil unrest in the new city of Boston due to the pressures placed upon the settlers by England’s King James II. The king’s self-appointed governor decides to show the people his distaste for New-Englanders and his dominance over them.

 

THE GOVERNOR CONDUCTS A PROCESSION     
along the fledgling city’s Main Street and things go according to plan until “the gray champion,” someone unrecognized by the local townsfolk, steps out from among the onlookers and 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 a mere figment of a fertile imagination. You decide.

ONE THING I KNOW FOR CERTAIN    
is 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. The Apostle Paul challenged young Timothy, saying, “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.”[1]

The truth is, parents could use some help these days. Influencers. A good neighbor. A loving grandparent. There is a lot going on in the lives of children these days. Maybe it’s time to step out from among the onlookers of the church and the world and dare to be one of Jesus’ gray champions for someone you know.

Today’s generation is hungry for heroes.

May Jesus keep us close.

[1] The Bible 2 Tim. 2:15