Why I Don't Like Superheroes

I'm about to get a lot of people upset at me. I was reminded yesterday why I don't like superheroes. Yes, there I said it: I don't like superheroes. There is one very good reason that a number of people will not understand. Superheroes are a bunch of vigilantes who disperse their version of justice. They are all about justice; punishing the bad guy, if not straight out killing him. We love to cheer the good guy on, even if he has taken on the role for himself and has been given no legal authority. We also cheer him on as he seeks the destruction of the bad guy. As a Christian you should be offended by such a notion.

Now I am not telling you to stop watching superhero movies but I am telling you to be careful of allowing the notion of justice to settle in your heart. If you were to live with this same mindset you would end up living in opposition to most of what Jesus taught and what the Spirit empowers us to live. Father has always had a heart for reconciliation with his enemies over applying justice.

Without a doubt Father has every right to bring justice against the evil doer but before you say Amen to that you had better realize that it was while we were still sinners that Jesus died for us. It is the sinner who is the enemy of Yahweh. Hear the words of Father as Jesus taught us to love our enemies, just as Father was doing through Jesus. He loves his enemy so much that he laid down his life for us. We didn't deserve it. The only thing we deserved was death but instead he chose to reach out with life. This has always been his heart:

For I am the Lord, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you. (Malachi 3:6-7)

Apply those verses to your own heart. So many Christians are consumed by guilt because they adhere more to their fear of a just God than they do to a compassionate Father. Yes, we need to feel the conviction of our sin, our rebellion, against him but we must also hear his voice calling us back to him. Don't hide in a cave licking your wounds. Stand in his light; let your shame be exposed; and he will clothe you in his compassionate forgiveness and grace. If he was not the God who never changes, we would be destroyed for our rebellion. Instead we hear him say, return to me and I will return to you.

Father is justice. Those who do not seek his forgiveness will be destroyed. But justice is not what he desires. He has always desired reconciliation and restoration. Why do you think it took him so long to finally send his people into captivity? Why do you think he sent prophet after prophet with great warnings and the call to return to him? He would rather forgive his people then to apply his justice to them. Even then he sent them into captivity to turn their hearts back to him instead of destroying them.

He does not change.

Perhaps you have not been the best Christian. Perhaps you have been a Christian in name only. Maybe you are one who has the appearance of godliness but in private you are a very wicked person. Maybe your sins are not the public sort but Jesus has promised that whatever is done in private will be exposed in public. Perhaps you believe you are a lost cause and you would rather pretend that God does not exist than to deal with your rebellious ways. I'm here to tell you, despite your rebellion, Father still loves you. He is calling to you right now to turn back to him so he can return to you. He does not want to punish you, he wants to be reconciled with you. He does not want to bring you low, he wants to restore you.

If we lived in a world of super heroes there would not be many of us left alive. We would be tracked down by these vigilantes and killed or jailed. You may not think our rebellion is all that major but it is. Praise the Lord we live in an age of grace where Yahweh seeks to forgive the offence instead of punish it. And we who have been forgiven must in turn forgive. We need to seek reconciliation and not justice. We must love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us. We need to let go of our desire for justice and become agents of restoration. We are not agents of Shield seeking justice; we are agents of Grace, desiring to shield.

You Are Not Insignificant To Our Enemy

Do you sometimes feel insignificant, as if whatever you do will go unnoticed by everyone? If you are a child of Yahweh don't you believe it. There are more eyes on you than you can possibly understand. You see, the enemy knows what kind of influence you have and he looks for every opportunity to diminish that influence. Meanwhile, the world is looking for someone who actually believes and lives by the words of Jesus. The world wants to see if there is any sincerity left. You have more eyes on you than you can possibly know.

The enemy hates sincere believers; those that trust and live by the words of Jesus. He hates those who desire above all else to know Jesus and to walk in his footsteps. He hates and wants to destroy a powerful testimony. So he will push and prod and lay down traps to try to destroy you. His biggest tool is fear. He may not cause situations but he will try to use the good things Jesus is doing in your life, twisting them to produce fear. A glaring example of this is found in Nehemiah.

Nehemiah had come back from captivity to give oversight and encouragement to the rebuilding of Jerusalem but there were many enemies who wanted to stop him. However, Nehemiah was there under the authority of the king of Babylon. He had full authority to do what he was doing so the enemy had to be crafty in their discouragement. Sound familiar? We have full authority under our King to do what we do but the enemy does all he can to bring in discouragement.

In this case, the enemy tried to use an informer, a traitor in their midst, to produce fear in Nehemiah. He told him that his enemies were going to do a sneak attack and kill him. He advised him to go into the temple and lock the door to stay safe. He wanted to produce fear in Nehemiah so Nehemiah would take a cowardly act to preserve himself. This would have brought a halt to the work, discouraged the people and showed a lack of faith. But the enemy forgets that we are well equipped in our relationship with Yahweh to see through such traps:

And I said, “Should such a man as I flee? And who is there such as I who would go into the temple to save his life? I will not go in!” Then I perceived that God had not sent him at all, but that he pronounced this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. For this reason he was hired, that I should be afraid and act that way and sin, so that they might have cause for an evil report, that they might reproach me. (Nehemiah 6:11-13)

Jesus has given you a testimony so he may be glorified through you. Your life is no longer about you but about everyone Jesus can influence through you. Often the difficulties we go through are not about us but about Jesus using us to show sincere faith to the world. He is shining through our weaknesses, our circumstances, as we hold to our faith and trust, not complaining but praising. When people see us in our trials giving praise to Jesus it confuses them. But when they see Jesus answer our needs they begin to see the quality of his love for us. This is the thing the enemy wants to destroy.

There is a reason we are told to put on the full armour of God; we need it. The reason we need it is because on our own we cannot stand up against the fierceness, boldness and trickery of the enemy. The armour and the position we are told to take is all about defense. We are told that after we have done everything we can to stand, we are to stand. We have been given a testimony; stand in it. We have been given territory to defend; defend it. We have been given instructions from Jesus; follow them. Don't turn to the right or to the left. Don't listen to the little whispers. Pay no attention to the rumours that produce fear. You are a fierce warrior in the Lord's army so act like it as you place all your trust in the King.

No matter how insignificant you feel at times, you aren't. So many eyes are watching you, trying to decide whether you are the real thing, a real believer, a real child of Yahweh. Do not allow the enemy to steal that from you. Don't give your testimony away. Even if you have to lay down your life to preserve it, understand, Jesus is able to keep what you have committed to him. I leave you with our brother Paul's words:

For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. (2 Timothy 1:12)

Fight on!