Our culture loves to champion it’s heroes and heroic stories. <\/p>\n
Yet, what defines a hero? <\/p>\n
Is a hero the man who dies while saving people from a burning building? Or the person who dies while blowing up a building filled with ordinary people?<\/p>\n
Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) explained, <\/p>\n
\n\u2018Whoe\u2019er excels in what we prize, appears a hero in our eyes.\u2019 <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
In other words, what is heroic in a given culture depends on what is valued by that culture.<\/p>\n
So who are the heroes of our culture? <\/p>\n
\n
- Those who yell the loudest about keeping us safe at all costs right now.<\/li>\n
- Those who yell the loudest about giving us what we want as fast as we decide we want it.<\/li>\n
- Those who yell the loudest about entertaining ourselves at all costs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
But the Gospel is worth more than our safety.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
God protected the three in the fiery furnace, and if he so wishes, he can still do it now. If he doesn\u2019t do so, our reward is greater in what we gain in persecution and death.<\/p>\n
The Gospel is the only reality that can actually satsify our insatiable desires for more, next, more and next! Once we tase and see that he is good, and we realize he is always present to instantly satisfy our hearts, our neediness and longings for everything else fade in comparison. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s okay to want things in this world, but sometimes, just like Daniel and his friends, what we desire may come slowly over time or never at all. This is when we must know we are satisfied without it, because we already have more than enough in every circumstance.<\/p>\n
The Gospel alone can snap us out of our longings of escape through mindless entertainment. As the deep gospel truths satisfy us, they bring us such joy that another story, another movie, another concert, another comedian, cannot compare to our heart\u2019s present pleasures. <\/p>\n
We find our fulfillment and joy in making the most of every opportunity, since the days or evil and short. (Ephesians) <\/p>\n
We find our rest in walking with the Lord.<\/p>\n
Why and how can this be true?<\/p>\n
It is when we value Jesus most. <\/p>\n
It is when Jesus is our hero.<\/p>\n
when we see Jesus and his gospel rightly, we see that both our deepest desires and the worlds are met in Jesus.<\/p>\n
Because Jesus and his past and present work continue to excel beyond all else, he is our hero that we should champion more than any other. <\/p>\n
We need to help people see these realities so they too begin to naturally and genuinely champion their Christ for others to behold and enjoy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) explained, \u2018Whoe\u2019er excels in what we prize, appears a hero […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-139","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-culture","7":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":245,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/elasson\/team-debt\/","url_meta":{"origin":139,"position":0},"title":"On the concept of “team debt”","author":"Riley Adam Voth","date":"October 1, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The concepts of \"technical debt\" and \"team debt\" are terms that the church and para-church need to borrow and learn from - asap.","rel":"","context":"In "communication"","block_context":{"text":"communication","link":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/elasson\/category\/communication\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":189,"url":"https:\/\/themajestysmen.com\/elasson\/connecting-stories-and-meaning\/","url_meta":{"origin":139,"position":1},"title":"On connecting meaning in our stories for our community","author":"Riley Adam Voth","date":"February 27, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"We are part of the best story there is. 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