December 19, 2006
Heroism
by Richie Buck
Say you’re walking down the street with someone you care about a lot. As you pass a dark alley that smells like your little brothers closet, a man jumps out at you and tells you that he will kill one of you but let the other one go. Would you stand back and let your friend be killed? Or would you say to him,”Kill me. Let her go.”
During the past few years, we’ve seen a lot of acts of heroism around the world. But what is heroism from a Christian perspective? Especially to a Christian guy since every guy’s greatest desire is to be a hero. The Bible has a lot to say on heroism throughout the Old Testament and the New.
Who are some of the heroes in the Bible? Samson, Moses, Paul, and of course, Jesus. When Jesus talked about love in John 15:13, he said, ‘Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends.’ This is definitely the ultimate example of heroism in the Bible when Jesus died for us all. But is that all there is to true heroism?
In Ephesians 5:25 it says that husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church. Ok, most of us aren’t married, but that can also apply to our every day lives. Christ loved the church enough to suffer and die for her, and that is the greatest love. Any good person should be willing to die for another, but real love is to be willing to suffer for another.
Don’t look for opportunities to die for people, because that’s just stupid. Heroism to a Christian is more than just running into burning buildings, but that’s part of it. Now, there’s more to heroism than just the physical stuff, there’s also a spiritual part.
If someone came to you and challenges you in your faith by asking, ‘How do you know there is a God?’ how would you respond? Well, there are many ways to respond to a person who questions your faith, but defending the faith is not an easy thing to do.
Defending the faith and not rejecting Christ is another form of heroism. Jim Elliot, Rachel Joy Scott, and many others all gave their lives for the faith. But what does it all come down to? Do we get a bigger mansion in heaven? Revelations talks about that very issue.
In Revelations, we all are equal in Gods eyes and are judged the same. We lay our crowns at Gods feet, so all that we do on this earth is all for God and not for us. So would dying for another or for your faith really be worth it?
If you are willing to give your lives for another, because that’s what Jesus did for us, what better way to greet God then to be a martyr for him?
Richie is an 18-year old teen who loves writing. He is currently working on his eighth draft of his novel, and when he isn’t writing, he loves acting and singing. He has a passion for other teenagers and encouraging them in their faith walk.
Jade W. says:
Awesome devotional, Richie!
your friend,
Jade
Anonymous says:
Way to go Richie!
-Lydia
rsb says:
Hey Richie, my name is Richy Buck. My middle name is Scott.