[Steve Myers] Have you noticed lately how many superhero movies there are? It is amazing when you look at how many have been amazing hits at the box office, whether it's Spiderman, or Batman, or X-Men. I just saw an article about a new one that's coming out in a few months that's called Splinter. They all seem to be based on comic strip characters that jump in to fight evil. And I was reading an article about those various movies and why they're so popular, and one of the reasons that it listed as a purpose for their popularity was the fact that when times get tough, everybody wants a hero. And so as I began to think about that fact, when times are tough, we do want a hero. But where do you turn for the ultimate hero? You know, are these superheroes where people put their trust, their faith? Well, in the movies they certainly do, and yet it seems like the difficult times always keep coming back in those movies. Then they can do another movie. You know, they can do a repeat, they can follow up on the original.
Well, when it comes to the real one, when times get tough, we need more than just a hero for the day – we need a Savior. And in fact, when you look at the word of God, He provides the ultimate superhero. Because you know, when we look to this world, we need someone that can actually save – and of course, our Savior is the One that can actually do something about it. "Jesus" really means "Savior". And when we look at the Savior that we have as God's people, ultimately He will save. He saves individually, but ultimately He's going to save the entire planet, so that evil will finally be eradicated. And there's a passage that goes along with this thought, if you would consider. Philippians chapter 3 and in verse 20, it says, "Our citizenship is in heaven" – it's not in Gotham City or anyplace like that, but it's in heaven – "from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).
And so, when times are tough, when there are difficulties, we need someone that can do something about it. In fact, as you see the commercials play out for the latest blockbuster, you know, superhero hit, maybe you can think of the real Hero. It's not that when times are tough, we want a hero. But when times are tough – and even when times are good – we need a hero. We need more than a hero. We need a Savior. And so, when we're faced with those times, and as you see those superhero commercials, maybe we could think about the ultimate Hero, the ultimate One that will come and save.
