Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: HERO (10/01/20)
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TITLE: My One and Only Hero | Previous Challenge Entry
By Doug Laird
10/06/20 -
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By this all-inclusive definition, heroes are produced in virtually every walk of life every day. But for me, there is a missing ingredient in this recipe.
If the honor associated with being a hero is going to be reserved for those who truly qualify, I believe that the ones designated as heroes must not only have done a great deed with courage, but went above and beyond what was legally and morally required of him/her at that moment.
Without this “above and beyond” requirement, the exclusive honor that should only be given to those who do go “above and beyond” is diminished.
Don’t get me wrong.This “above and beyond” standard in no way diminishes the significance of the great deeds and sacrifices that many, many individuals have made without having gone above and beyond. Such deeds and sacrifices deserve to be gratefully acknowledged.
However, if “heroes” who do in fact go above and beyond are going to receive the honorable distinction they deserve, the above and beyond requirement must be maintained.
Some professions inherently require a willingness on the part of its members to courageously place themselves in harm’s way on a regular basis.
The psychological and physiological impact on police officers as they experience bouncing back and forth between boring routine and life changing or life ending incidents for twenty plus years or more is greatly underestimated.
Images of facial expressions and abused bodies of victims of violent crimes (assaults, suicides, homicides) and of “every-day” people with mangled bodies in traffic and industrial accidents, fires, explosions, etc., are forever etched in the subconscious and consciousness minds of police officers, rescue personnel, emergency room medical personnel, on scene EMTs, and fire-fighters.
I am retired from a thirty-year law enforcement career, having served my community on their local police department, and the last five years on the police department at my state airport.
I would like to believe that what I did contributed to the saving the natural lives and tangible property of the ones I served.
As an ordained pastor-teacher with an Internet pulpit, my goal is now to be used of God to save and to edify souls.
In both scenarios, God has given me what I believe to be a measure of success, but in neither scenario do I consider myself a “hero.”
Throughout my law enforcement career, I did what was legally and morally required and expected of me, in light of my training, experience, and opportunities.
Having only done what was required (Luke 17: 10) does not necessarily mean one meets the above and beyond criteria.
In the spiritual realm, “we” can do NOTHING (John 15: 5).
Advancing disciples plant seeds, water, and cultivate the garden by communicating truth by word and example.
But it is God who causes the growth (1Cor. 3: 7), and it is God who should receive the glory (Isa. 42: 8).
The only recognition that an advancing disciple wants to receive for his/her part in the process is to hear the words, “Well done, my good and faithful servant (Matt. 25: 21).”
Being in the right place at the right time is never a matter of luck. The concept of luck, good or bad, is an afront to the principle of divine sovereignty.
All interpersonal interactions are divinely ordained.
. . .
My hero is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Risking one’s life by stepping outside of one’s safety zone is a part of what makes one a hero.
God the Son left the glory and the comfort of Heaven to accomplish His mission (1John 2: 2), k-n-o-w-i-n-g that the life of His humanity would not only be at risk, but would in fact be self-sacrificed.
The life of His Humanity was NOT “taken” from Him (John 10: 18).
He laid it down by His own initiative after completing His mission on the cross (John 19: 30).
He took on the mission k-n-o-w-i-n-g that His comrades would betray, deny knowing, doubt, and desert Him.
There is a coming day of reckoning.
Every soul will acknowledge who and what He claimed to be (Rom. 14: 11).
One can acknowledge this Hero while here on Earth and be not again (John 3: 5, 7), or one will acknowledge Him only too late, before being tossed into the Rev. 20: 15 lake of fire.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
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