Skip to main content

We Need a Hero




Stan Lee was been responsible for creating or co-creating some of the world’s most popular superheroes. His super-human imagination gave birth to Black Panther, Spider-Man, the X-Men, Thor, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, Daredevil and Ant-Man.

Of course, the world has no shortage of storytellers, but Lee was something of a mutant in the field. The Avengers series alone has generated more than $10 billion in ticket sales at the box office since 2008. So what set his stories apart from the rest? Lee was able to tap into two deeply rooted human instincts. He explains his secret in a 1984 interview with ET:

“The whole formula, if there was one, I think was to say: ‘let’s assume that somebody really could walk on walls like Spider-Man, or turn green and become a monster like The Hulk. That’s a given, we’ll accept that. But, accepting that, what would that person be like in the real world if he really existed? Wouldn’t he still have to worry about making a living? Or people distrusting him? Or having acne and dandruff? Or his girlfriend jilting him? What are the real problems people would have?’ I think that’s what made the books popular.”

There it is, super-humans with normal struggles.

We all know we need a superhero to rescue us from our enemies, from calamities unforeseen, from ourselves. But we simultaneously want this hero to be someone with whom we can identify. These two instincts are woven into our fallen nature, the knowledge that we need someone to save us and the deep desire for others to understand our struggles. This part of our fallen nature prepares the human heart for the redemptive work of Jesus.

The author of Hebrews expresses it this way:

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)

Jesus did not simply rescue us from afar. He became a man and subjected himself to all the tyrannies of a fallen world. He saves as one who can sympathize.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Beautiful Doctrine

  A Beautiful Doctrine    In some churches, it is a word that conjures up images of an angry and capricious God who acts arbitrarily to save some, but consigns most sinners, including deceased infants, to eternal Hell. For many professing Christians, it is the mother of all swear words.   Let the pastor breathe it in the presence of the deacon board and he risks firing, fisticuffs or worse. A God who chooses is anti-American, anti-democracy. It bespeaks a long-faced, puritanical religion, a doctrinal novelty invented by a maniacal 16th-century minister whose progeny manufactured a theological “-ism” that has plunged countless souls into a godless eternity.   In other churches, it is a cherished word that describes a beloved doctrine, one that bestows comfort and unshakable confidence that not one maverick molecule, not one rebel subatomic particle exists outside of God’s loving providential control, even in the matter of salvation. Want to start a lively convers...
Post a Comment
Read more

Is Your Pastor a Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing?

In this age of cultural Christianity, and what I mean by that is Christianity that is changed to fit the current popular ideas.  Christianity that is custom tailored to suit the community’s various wants, tastes, and needs. Did you know that when one of the trendy new “modern churches” are planning to plant a campus (that’s the new trendy name for these modern, progressive churches now, “campuses” ) they send interviewers into the community to talk with people to find out what they want in a church.  What sort of programs they like and what kind of sermons they want to hear, and then they tailor the entire worship service around what the community wants.  This is not church folks, this is a social club.   The problem with this new fangled Christianity is that people may know very well what they want, but what they need is an entirely different story.  Many people today want to be entertained in a worship service.  They want loud music, they want drama skits...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why the Reformation Still Matters

  In an era of spiritual confusion and cultural fragmentation, the Reformation stands as a poignant reminder that truth is worth fighting for.    October isn’t just about falling leaves and pumpkin spice ;  it’s Reformation Month. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, sparking a movement that would reshape the church, challenge empires, and recover the gospel’s blazing center: salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. This month, I’m launching a series of blog posts that explore why the Reformation still matters, how its truths confront our modern confusion, comfort our weary hearts, and call us back to the beauty of biblical grace.   When most people hear the term “Reformation,” they think of dusty history books, old church controversies, or perhaps Martin Luther wielding a hammer. However, the truth is that the Reformation isn’t just a chapter in church history; it’s a living legacy. It’...
Post a Comment
Read more