The Old testament story of Gideon always fascinates and inspires me to believe that I can make a difference. An angel appears to Gideon while he is threshing wheat in a winepress and addresses him as a mighty man of valour (Judges 6). We know that Gideon did not agree with this for two reasons:
1. He was in hiding- Heroes don’t hide away.
2. He said so- ‘ My clan is the weakest and I’m the least in my family’
I guess Gideon had little or no self-confidence. He did not readily grasp this assignment, in fact I think he as trying to avoid it. Can you imagine what this young felt like, when after agreeing to take on the assignment, his army of 32 000 is reduced to 300 ! Yeah right !
“This is crazy”.. so says Gideon and I’m nodding my head in agreement..
Perhaps heroes are not only those muscle bound, ice-cool, super-quick, fear nothing–kind of people. Perhaps heroes are more down to earth and ordinary than we’ve been made to believe. The mother who holds down a job, takes care of her home and always seems to have time to listen to her child, the father who walks to work so that the money saved can be used for food, the teenager who determines to refrain from sexual involvement until marriage, or those who give up their precious evenings to serve food to the destitute.. these are the unsung heroes. These are the men and women who do not see themselves as heroes just those with a caring heart.
A phrase from a George Benson song captures the basic essence of what a hero needs to be – “Everybody needs someone to look up to, everybody needs someone to show the way.”
Some of the qualities demonstrated by heroes are :-
· Genuine love and care for people.
· Commitment to the conviction that they can make a contribution to society.
· Courage to leave the safety and familiarity of their comfort zone.
· A readiness to suffer personal loss or discomfort.
· Humility.
· Heart and motivation to serve rather than be served.
· Faith to trust God.
Take a moment to reflect upon your hero/heroes, take note of their particular traits that set them apart in your mind as a hero and then do all you are able to emulate them. The children of the world you influence, are looking for heroes to show them the way, developing athletes and sportsmen are looking for heroes- everybody is looking for a hero. That hero could be YOU ! Go For It - Be somebody's HERO !
