“By this we know love, because He
laid down His life for us. And we also
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”—1 John 3:16
Our definition of what marks a hero has drastically changed over the
past ten years. Today the majority of
the time, the word is used to linked selfless acts with people. Some of the dictionary’s definitions of hero include: a mythological or legendary figure
often of divine descent, or a man admired for his achievements and noble
qualities, one who shows great courage, or the central figure in an event,
period, or movement. In America, the
media has used the name “hero” to describe
people who pull others from life threatening situations, or giving selflessly
to help others in need. It is also used
in comic books and cartoons; however, rarely do we hear the word “hero” used in connections with Jesus—the
child.
As the date for Christians to
celebrate the birth of Christ is nearing (December 25), I have been pondering
what does Christ’s birth mean to us, personally. And as
I pondered, I became aware that we as Christians reflect upon His birth and
seem to conjure up an idea of what that must have been like for a young
woman. During this time, the hymns that
we sing and our traditional Christian plays help to reinforce the icon images
that come to our minds. As we celebrate
the birth of Christ, reflect on these facts about the child who grew up to
become a hero.
Jesus the child was “Immanuel”—God with us. Jesus left His home in heaven to come to
earth to manifest the will of the Father.
God, the Father, has wealth beyond counting, He owns everything He owns
it all. 2 Corinthians 8:9 describes what Jesus left in
heaven, “For you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was
rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might
become rich.
Jesus the child “hero” came in seed form, “concerning
His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who
was born of the seed of David according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3).
Jesus our true hero has
power to forgive sin, “But
that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the man who was paralyzed,
“I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (Luke 5:24).
Our hero gave selflessly—even to the point of death, “By this we know love, because He laid down
His life for us. And we also ought to
lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16).
Jesus demonstrated to us what a hero must do: He did not allow religion to compromise His
faith. He did what He knew was right
even in the face of sorrow, loneliness and being deserted by His close friends,
“And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I
always do those things that please Him” (John 8:29).
Prayer—Father I thank You that You
sent Jesus in the form of an infant to teach us that we can all be “heroes”
by having faith on Him and that we can do the works
that He did. Lord, I surrender anew to
You that my heart will always remain tender and pliable so that I will follow
Your direction and leading for me, in Jesus Name. Amen.
