What Makes A Hero?
by Derek Bartlow
(Published on 2.21.18 in the Idaho Press-Tribune)
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What Makes A Hero?
I’ve been floored by the Olympics since I was a kid. There’s something inspiring about pushing the limits of faster, higher, stronger. It lights a fire and the imagination comes alive with what we can strive for. It’s transcendent!
What makes a hero? That’s a deep question, and answers will present variety. But whether it’s a storied Olympian, Mother Theresa, or Sergeant Peck, heroes share some holy ground.
Heroes have a high vision for the way things should be. This powerful ideal is far greater than subjective preference, and is often tested in the crucible.
Heroes muster courage to step up and fight. High ideals aren’t won by the faint of heart. Opposition will rise, be it fear, competition, challenge, injury, evil, or enemy. But heroes don’t quit. Heroes fight for what is right, true, and good, regardless of opposition or outcome.
A Hero loves, protects, and sacrifices. The temptations of comfort and compromise beckon like a siren’s call, but heroes hear a sweeter song, and choose to sacrifice something desirable for something greater. Chesterton declared, “The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
There are many heroes. But One stands unrivalled. His war is for the redemption of the human race. He was hated and executed by people He came to rescue. He willingly gave His life, unleashing an otherworldly love for all humanity that cannot be earned or understood, but cherished as a gift of highest worth. Against all expectation, His death was not the end. Among all the heroes of history, His tomb alone is verifiably empty. Death itself is defeated, and kneels before His triumph. His name is Jesus and He alone stands at the apex as the living and sovereign Hero.
- Derek, Idaho.
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