And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah,about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Hebrews 11: 32 - 40
In case you haven't noticed, the world is pretty rotten. And I say this with all seriousness: you might have not noticed how truly rotten it is. You might be like me, and hardly leave the CSM campus, with the most evil thing on your mind being red boxes on the 9th try. But I honestly feel so sheltered and almost indifferent to what crazy and senseless things are going on outside. It's sad because I only know something happens if it's horrible enough to break my Facebook newsfeed, and lately it seems bad stuff is happening so often that the amount of shock decreases each time. We notice less; pray less. And focus on the pursuit of comfort in green boxes or whatever.
But as God's light to the world, we should not be comfortable with maggots feasting on the rottenness of it all. We are actually called to be heroes. Yes, you, a hero.
The two C's of heroship are "called" and "capable". If God has called you, then you are certainly capable in some way, and some ways are different than others. Every comic book hero has a superpower, and each of us have some talents or abilities. Some heroes form alliances, leagues, etc. Sometimes there's a distinct leader with some awesome talent. Sometimes you just have a Hulk. But same goes for real life: you have a purpose with whatever ability you have, and together with InterVarsity, you can stop the rotteness in whatever place you are called.
So the rhetorical question is: Are you willing to be a hero? Yeah, you- the kid with glasses sometimes afraid to approach some situations (I'm picking on myself). The question I want to hear discussed is: if you could have one power or ability that would possibly benefit the kingdom of God, what would it be? Costumes are optional.
