MARVELous

I have yet to meet a person who doesn't love a good superhero movie. There's something about the idea of being able to have victory, and strength, and courage like that that draws us in. Something about knocking the enemy forces down with one kick or a quick flame out of your hand, that energizes our hearts.

I think superheroes are awesome. And, surprisingly to some, I've been able to draw a lot of parallels between the lives of some of Avengers, and Christianity. This is fun stuff. :)

The Li'l Guy

Steve Rogers was the first "Avenger". He was the li'l guy in boot camp. He was the one that nobody thought would amount to anything. He was a squirt, and his commanding officers knew he'd never be able to fight.

But Steve had a strong heart. He didn't have the body of a fighter, but he had the spirit of one. He had courage, kindness, integrity and emotional stamina. He was knocked down by people twice his size, and his response was a simple: "I could do this all day!"

Nobody thought Steve could amount to anything. But one scientist believed differently. Steve was a li'l guy. REALLY little. His helmet didn't even fit. But this scientist didn't look through the typical eyes of the world. It reminds me of the story of David in:

1 Samuel 16:1-13

Saul, the former king, was tall and strong. David, on the other hand, was the li'l guy. He was so insignificant from a worldy standpoint, his father hadn't even bothered to bring him out to show Samuel. He was too young to fight when his brothers went off to war with Saul against the Philistines.....and the helmet didn't fit him, either. But God looked at the heart. And only David was brave enough to stand against the uncircumcised Philistine who dared to blaspheme the armies of the living God.

Steve Rogers wasn't always a little guy. This scientist eventually convinced one of Steve's officers to let him enter an experiment, in which whatever was inside you got a lot bigger. Not only did Steve's heart get bigger, but so did his body. He, like David, was made strong.....to give.

But neither David nor Steve were given a chance at greatness right away. Instead of going out and fighting Nazis, Steve got to become "CAPTAIN AMERICA" and stir up fundraisers for the troops. David had proven his valor in battle. He had single-handedly stood up and defeated the giant that an entire army had shied away from. And his new job was?  The king's harp-player.

Eventually, though, both of these men's potentials were discovered....and heroes were made.

In your own strength.....

What happened to Captain America was pretty cool. Step into a machine, inject a little chemical, go through a little pain, and......... surprise!  The perfect recipe for a war hero!!

Decades later, Bruce Banner decided this was what he deserved, too. So he tried to imitate this scientific masterpiece in his own strength. The result was............well...........far from desirable. :)

For three hours in The Incredible Hulk, Bruce fights to rid himself of this monster he created. He's being hunted by the US army, so they can protect the public from this massive green monster that Bruce becomes whenever he gets angry.

David was a great king. And he had a massive empire. He was able to do great things for God. And his grandson, Rehoboam, wanted that, too. There was just one little problem.......he wanted to do it without God. In his own strength, he tried to rebuild and expand the kingdom of David and Solomon. But it was all in his own strength. Unlike David, he wasn't a man after God's heart. God's heart couldn't matter less in his life. He tried to do it on his own, and the result was........ An Abomination.

"If you try to imitate in your own strength, you will become a miserable replica. But if you let the power of God overtake you?  Suddenly, it all works." 
                                                                                                                     ~Eric Ludy

The Impenetrable Heart

*Drum roll*......................IRONMAN.

If you've seen any of the IronMan movies, you'll know that Tony Stark isn't exactly the most upstanding guy on the block. But the story of his heart is pretty cool.

When Tony Stark goes to an American base to display his latest weapon, things don't exactly go as-planned. After he's almost killed by Afghanistan soldiers, Tony receives a new object on his chest from a brilliant German scientist. His chest is filled with shrapnel from the encounter, and he can't remove it on his own. That shrapnel is constantly trying to get into his heart, and overtake it. There's really only one thing that's keeping him alive: A heart of light.

This new heart was created to replace the old one. To do what it always wanted to, but never could. I love this image of the heart....mostly because, it reminds me of my heart.

My heart was attacked by destruction before it even started beating. My chest is full of a shrapnel that I can't remove on my own. And every day, that shrapnel tries to get to my heart. To kill me.

And every day, I let it.

That shrapnel enters my heart because I say it can. I give it access. I don't always want to. But in my own strength, I can't stop.

Which is why you have to stop trying to imitate in your own strength.

There's a heart of light out there. One that can do everything that your old, sinner's heart couldn't. One that can keep the shrapnel away from the sacred, and protect it. One that can give life to a dead heart, and defend it. One that can turn it outwards, and let it start seeing the broken world around it......one that can open your eyes to the shrapnel flinging itself at the world, instead of just the shrapnel inside you.

On this side of the cross, that heart of Light is available.

I say it's time for the real heroes to stand up and grab a hold of it.