Heroes

We as a culture are amazingly enamored with our heroes. We have sports heroes, action heroes, super heroes, fictional book heroes, war heroes, movie heroes and Bible heroes. There's even a chapter in the Bible we have affectionately named the "Heroes of Faith" chapter - Hebrews 11. Heroes are just a natural part of our lives. We look for them and try to be like them and we love to talk about them. Really though, this infatuation we all have with heroes is not a new phenomenon. Regardless of your background, culture or religion every generation and nationality and organization has had a propensity towards finding and emulating and looking up to heroes. Every discovered culture is filled with writings and drawings and stories of Heroes. Heroes are as old and common as time itself. It's almost as if God himself designed us with a desire to look up to, and want to be influenced by, others - Heroes


Basically heroes are people who did the right thing at the right time. They are people who responded and or reacted correctly in the midst of a crisis. They are people who did something courageous. They stepped up in a hard situation. They intervened when circumstances seemed hopeless. They are people who metaphorically – snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat.


Now Some of those heroes and their stories we can all recall. like the firefighters on 9/11. General George Washington and the war for Independence. President Lincoln and the war to end slavery or Martin Luther King Jr and his non-violent protests for equality. Others are not so famous – nationally - but personally they are hero’s just the same. Like a dad or a mom that sacrificed to make our lives better. A teacher or a friend that just understood what to say and when to say it. Some single mom that raised you or a boss at work that helped lead you. Hopefully, in all of our personal lives there has been someone who stepped in and showed care and concern when we needed it. Someone who helped, who gave a hand or met a need. Someone who in our lives has lived their lives, heroically.


For me this thought came clear again when I heard about the tragic death of my friend Tim Foster, this past week. Tim wasn't perfect and for sure he had his weaknesses. But, for me he was a hero. When I was completing my Bible college degree and praying and really seeking to discover what and where God was going to lead me next. It was Tim that stepped in and really opened a door that launched my ministry. Tim found me in the prayer room one morning and asked me if I would like to speak at his singles retreat. Now, at that point in my life I was not a good speaker nor was I a guy that had much experience working with single adults. But Tim said he just sensed that I had "IT". He wasn't concerned about all the other stuff. He felt confident that God had a call on my life and that I was the guy. That singles retreat and Tim's belief in me led to a discussion about my future which caused Tim to call, on my behalf, his father, "The Doctor", who pastored a church in West Monroe, his sister Debbie who was a youth pastor and his brother Tom who pastored a church in Dallas. They all, because of Tim's recommendation, invited me to come and preach for them. And that began my ministry.


The point is Tim was the guy who stepped up and stepped in to my life and became a hero to me. He let God use him to say some simple words and do a simple thing like call his family on my behalf. And in the end, those words and those calls changed everything for me. They gave me confidence and a direction. They introduced me to people that were ready to take me from where I was to the next level. And to think it all started because Tim saw in me something that made him move in my direction. Tim sensed something that made him take a risk on me and because of that risk he opened a door that has forever changed my life. Tim that morning in 1992 became my hero.


So who is your hero? Who do you look up to? Who has played a heroic role in your life? I encourage you to sit down and write a note to them - TODAY. Don't wait, like I did, until they are gone. take the time to say thank-you and let that person know they are a hero in your eyes.