Allowing Christ to be an Unmasked Hero.

Is there a correlation between are admiration in superheros and desperation for the supernatural? 

    I smiled to myself at the irony as I tied a bow on the back of young Cody’s spider man costume. He was convinced he carried the super human powers needed to save the world from evil, yet he had the inability to suit up for the job. I sat there on my knee for a while as he jetted off to save the household from the coffee table or the lamp, jabbing his thumb, pointer and pinky toward any inanimate villains that stood in his way, speuing an invisible thread and caputuring them in his spidey web. I then realized what God was doing– again.

    We assume that it is our job to teach those unable to teach themselves, but God is always turning the tables. As adults, we shut our eyes and hearts to the world around us, limiting our vision to the agenda of accomplishing one chore and then leaping to the next. I’m terribly guilty of this, confining my life to a to-do list and praying to God that there will be a window of time to take a shower before I crawl into bed and prepare begin the process all over again. This leaves little time for me to “abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight (phil.1:9).” On the other hand, children, attempt to grasp the whole world with blinking eyes. Bluntly honest and yet to experience the corruption of social reform, we have a lot to learn from our little ones. They are what we should see in ourselves: untainted or restricted by the world.

     So as I watched the nature of this child, enthralled in his imaginary state, I ultimately learned about the nature of God himself, and became more enthralled by him.

        I couldn’t help but think: Why is it that our culture is so engrossed with superheroes? Can you imagine how many hospital bills come from children’s failed attempts to fly? From big screen, small screen, comic strips, and magazines, every where I turn they’re there. It’s not surprising either! The reason that mall windows plaster pictures revealing Victoria’s latest lacey secret is the same reason that there is usually a superhero defending the box office; media has a way of appealing to our innate senses.  We are drawn to things that are greater we could ever achieve on our own, because God made us that way. Superheroes are the substitute for the supernatural we crave in Christ. Wrap your mind around that. America in general stretches to the boundaries of the universe in search of life beyond out own, ponders the intriguing abilities of Phycics, and is continually dazzled by magicians spoofs. All paling in comparison to the true supreme power of the God we crave. On the other end, horror movies rack up the big bucks by unleashing the fear of the evil in the world.

          We are spiritual beings in need of spiritual fulfillment. Yet so many times we warp these wonderful desires from God and try to fulfill them in worldly ways.

       The more I thought about it the more I realized that there are two kind of spiritual appeals from superheroes. One that imitates Christ, the other that imitates Christ infused man.

   For type one, lets use Superman for example. Sent by his father from the Planet Krypton, Superman came to a small farm as a baby and was raised by illegitimate parents. He then grew up defeating the bad guys, saving vulnerable patrons and defending the good of mankind; all while having a great disguise. Sound familiar? Almost like the story of a God who sent his son to earth, who was born in a stable, raised by earthly parents, died for man kind as God but in the form of a man.  This is the Christ we idolize; the one we know can save the day from impending doom. And the one who will.

      Type two: Christ infused man. This would be like Spiderman. Average Joe walking around, bitten by a spider, is transformed and able to do miraculous things with out achieving them on his own strength. But with great power comes great responsibility. Heros such as spiderman the ability to overcome evil, but are flawed and struggle with evil with in them. Just like our journey to become a Christian, God takes the initiative to draw us close to him as his chosen. We then are transformed to be like him, and given the power to do all things through His strength. Yet, though we are called to be like him, we still struggle with the sin nature with in us.

    It’s a crazy parallel, but I don’t think it’s in any way an accident. Days after my superhero epiphany, I began to look at things a lot differently. No, I didn’t shun all superhero substitutes, but I did focus a little more on the real thing. I’m taking a little more time to idolize my creator, become like a child in my in awe and wonder of a God who can deliver me from all my emotional boo-boo’s, and arrive just in time to save the day. After all, if he didn’t come swooping down at the last second to save me from my perils, would I rely on him so strongly? I also started to look at myself a little differently. Do I allow the God who chose me, do miraculous things through me? It’s about time I realize the honor and responsibilities that come with being powered by Christ; while trying not to taint it with my own selfish desires.

        So here my challenge: Be a conqueror through Christ. Be blown away by the awesome power of God, and expect to do amazing things through his strength. And the next time you see an “S” emblem, or your spidey senses begin to tingle, don’t settle for a substitute.

Kay