Football season is less than ninety days away. The sports stations are already abuzz with talk of the coming season. I am, of course, a Saints fan. This season I will also be a New England Patriots fan. I will follow the Patriots for the same reason I followed the Jets last year and the Broncos the year before: Tim Tebow. I love Tebow because he is a former Florida Gator, but even more because he is an outspoken Christian. Sadly he will be a third string quarterback so I don’t guess I’ll have much opportunity to cheer.
We don’t have a lot of Christian heros to cheer on. It’s not that Christians aren’t doing heroic things. Christians in China and Africa are dying and landing in jail for their faith. They just aren’t prominent in the news. I personally know several Christians who have been very heroic this year, but again their exploits aren’t commonly known.
It seems those whom we consider heros often have a dark side or very negative personal traits. Watch a few hours of television, fiction programming or the sports or the news. We don’t see a lot of folks to admire, to cheer on, or to emulate. It’s sad for those of us in our 60s, but it’s tragic for the kids.
It’s getting to be VBS time. I hope there will be a strong effort to share with kids biblical heros. The regular folks that God chose to do special things. There are way too many negative themes floating around these days. Kids need to see the value in listening to God, following His word, doing His will. They need to see the heroic in being a faithful follower.
What we can’t provide them on our TV and movie theater screens, we clearly need to provide them in real life. Be a hero to someone. Show someone that it’s cool to love Jesus, to serve Him and to love His people. They need all the encouragement and example they can get.
We need saints to cheer on, whether they wear uniforms or plain clothes. Whether they are super stars or faithful followers.
Go saints.
Be blessed.
Nick
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