Who's your Hero?

Last week as I celebrated another anniversary of my birth, I received the round of Happy Birthday wishes on Facebook. I didn't have time to respond to each one individually, but a few of them stood out. One in particular stated "Happy Birthday to one of my hero's." No this was humbling because it was from a colleague of mine, so I am honored to be thought of that way by one of my peers. But it also prompted me to ask the question, why was I one of her hero's? What have I done to deserve that kind of status in someone's heart and mind?

I can list the many things I may have hoped to have done but did not. The things I have fought for but did not succeed. The initiatives I have tried and didn't get any traction or enthusiasm for. I can go on and on about what I haven't done, but yet still this person called me one of their hero's. Then I began thinking of who some of my hero's are and why it is that they were my hero's. Usually it was because of what they have done or accomplished, or how they helped me personally. And then it dawned on me that they are my hero's because what they do is simply an extension of who they are and they give me the courage to try to do those things. They do it because God has called them to these things, these ministries, that the qualities they posses are being used for God's purpose. Maybe the same thing is happening in me and in all of us, but we just don't recognize it because we measure ourselves against our own hero's. Instead we should look at how we can all be a hero in the ways God calls us to be.

Second: Being a hero can and should resemble God's grace. I don't think I deserve it but someone thinks so anyway and has given me int heir mind that status. It's undeserved yet it is given to me as their gift. Yet even more profound, was my son's 4th grade project this year where he had to write a report about himself for a "newspaper." (They all were on their own front page). He had to describe who his hero was. He could have chosen Batman or Wolverine, or Green Lantern. Or he could have chosen Aaron Rodgers, Payton Manning, Justin Verlander, or Landon Donavan. But their on his page he put a picture of me. Again I wonder why he would choose me knowing that I am in no way the perfect father. Again I can think of all the things I should have done as a parent and didn't, or at least should have done differently. But he said I was his hero because I pushed him to become better than he already was. I guess in a sense, yeah that's what Dads are supposed to do. But at least what I read into that is that Dad loves me no matter what and I love him too.

That's God's grace. Unconditional love! No matter how many faults we can find with ourselves, God looks past it all and says I love you, now go be a hero. We need our friends, our family, and even our hero's to remind us of that. Go tell someone that they are your hero, and remember, that even though you may not have heard it yet, your someone's hero too. All by the grace of God.