I had dinner with a friend the other night at Panera. We sat across the table from one another chatting as we ate. I tore away at my steaming Broccoli Cheddar soup in a bread bowl and coffee while she sat looking downtrodden eating her Cliff Bar and water. She said she didn’t need to spend any money. I offered to buy her dinner but she said “no.” I think she said “no” because she thought that if I bought her dinner then it would have made it a date and then she would have had to give me a goodnight kiss or something. Clearly, having thought this through, she stuck with the Cliff Bar.
Our conversation snaked its way from work stories to concerts we had attended to people we had dated. We talked about whom we had crushes on and how those crushes were either ignorant or oblivious to our existence. She gave me advice about women and I gave her advice about men. She told me how girls overanalyze everything that guys do in dating and freak out over little things like text messages. She said that guys just seem to have an “I don’t care” attitude sometimes and like to see girls squirm. I rebutted by saying that guys oftentimes do and see the same thing in the opposite direction. We have bro-talks about what a certain look means or what is encrypted in that text message that you ladies replied with. Then we have secret NATO planning meetings to plot our angle of attack in order to achieve the most successful and comprehensive victory on the objective at hand with the least amount of causalities possible (getting you girls to go out on a date with us without you turning us down).
She said that our guy meetings didn’t sound very romantic. I jokingly said that I wasn’t really worried about romance since I obviously wasn’t getting a kiss that night anyway. She had finished her Cliff Bar at this point.
I asked her what the girl version of our guy meetings were. She said that when girls have crushes on guys they often talk with their friends and create an elaborate fairytale fantasy around the whole situation. I instantly pictured two people running toward each other in slow motion on a beach at sunset and embracing in the foaming surf. Then they would probably get on a unicorn, ride off together into a wooded glade and have sex with colorful flowers and butterflies flitting around them. The girl would be wearing a sundress and the guy would likely be from Sweden, have long hair, big muscles, and walk around with his shirt partially unbuttoned.
I nodded confidently as if I could relate to exactly what she was thinking by the idea of a fairytale. I think I got what she was saying though. She wants a hero; someone strong and noble to be the man. And I may be wrong, but I don’t think the strength has to be enormous muscles necessarily. I think strong character goes a long way with women, the good ones at least. It made me think about what a hero actually is. What makes a hero a hero?
What is it that a hero has that others don’t?
Sacrifice
A hero is willing to put himself on the line in order to save someone else. Every hero goes through a time of testing and danger to save someone else. He goes up against all odds and risks it all to achieve the goal. There’s a chance of failure yet he volunteers to dive in headfirst anyway not truly knowing what the outcome may bring. It may bring death or it may bring victory. Either way, the hero trudges onward.
Nobility
A hero is willing to risk rejection for a greater good. A noble person does the right thing no matter if it is popular or not. Others may curse at or spit upon him. Groups may sneer at him and accuse him wrongly. He may lose all his friends or even his family but he stands up for what he believes in; for what he knows is right.
Selflessness
A hero is willing to see beyond himself into the lives of others. He realizes that the greater good lies beyond himself and his own comfort. He may endure some unpleasant hardships against his will in order to better all people but he is willing to do it anyway.
Loyalty
A hero is willing to stay the course even when it gets hard. There are times when the hero looks down the two paths. One seems easy and the other hard. The hero will take “the one less traveled by.” He will stay true to his word even if it brings him some struggle because his love outweighs any pain that he might endure.
Servanthood
A hero is willing to use his power to help those who are without power. He recognizes that he has a gift and has been given an opportunity. He knows his purpose and is willing to give of himself openly and generously.
We’re familiar with the story of a hero. Every movie has the element of a hero in it. Ok, well any movie of any substance. I just saw Jackass 3D and I can’t say that I could pick out the hero in that movie. It’s on its way to winning best picture of the year for sure though. Most movies do have a hero somewhere in the plot though.
We like stories about heroes. There’s something bold and beautiful about seeing someone trapped in a inescapable tangle of danger and the hero swooping in at the last second to save the day. Whether it’s the young virgin trapped in the tower of the evil black knight or Arnold saving his daughter in Commando, we can somehow relate to these movies. They invite excitement and emotion. They connect us to our neediness and brokenness. They remind us that we need rescuing.
If we’re honest, though, all of these heroes aren’t real. Even the ones that are real, such as our own military guys and gals, can’t live up to these standards completely. If you’re looking for a real hero then you ought to consider looking to Jesus. He gave it all. He took on everything and he won. The war is over. His noble sacrifice of selfless loyal service proved too much for the powers of darkness. Evil tried everything to bring him down. The good news (some call it the Gospel) is that evil didn’t even come close. It wasn’t even a real contest. Game. Set. Match. Jesus wins!
So ladies (and gentlemen), if a fairytale (hero) is what you’re looking for then it’s yours. Jesus invites you into the deepest most satisfying soul fulfilling relationship you could ever imagine. He sits beside you as you read this and embraces you. He speaks to you and you can hear him say,
“I’m here for you.”
“You can trust me.”
“I think about you often.”
“I won’t ever leave you.”
“I love you matchlessly and wholly.”
“I’ll rescue you.”
