“We need a leader, someone to be a hero.”
I really don’t mind mowing the grass. I always joke that we don’t have a lawn, we have a yard. It’s not big enough to justify a riding mower, so a push type is my weapon of choice. Recently during this weekly ritual, as is the norm, I put in my earbuds and set my iTunes library to shuffle. I zoned out through most of the front yard until the song “Leader” by Ace Enders filled my ears. For some reason, it just seemed louder and brighter than the previous songs. It got me feeling and thinking.
Ah, the hero. Charging into the chaos, impossible situations filled with danger, to rescue someone or a group from peril, always just in the nick of time. These days, we’ve also popularized the “anti” hero, an individual pushed to the end of patience and exacting revenge, dispensing justice and righting some wrong. He or she might not be a great person, but hey, the bad guy or gang had it coming and deserved everything they got and more! This continues to be a winning formula for books, movies, and television because deep down, we want good to triumph over evil and light to win over darkness.
But there is another kind of leader and hero, right in front of us. One whose journey is sometimes no less perilous and dangerous. Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, people we meet each day and worship with, who raise families, do the right thing when others don’t, ask “how are you doing” and wait around for an answer, who bare others burdens, sit and listen and serve.
They are the makers of history whose names are never written down. They nurture what is good from one generation to the next.
It is God’s plan, for you and me, to be more than we could imagine and He makes it possible to be that kind of every day hero.
“ I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power… His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. I ask you, therefore, not to be discouraged because of my sufferings for you, which are your glory.” – The Apostle Paul, Ephesians 3:7 & 3:10 – 13 NIV
Bigger and brighter.
All we need is everyone we know.
For every toy soldier I put to war when I was just a boy
I had no idea where I was going, I was built for more
I saw a man on TV, he had lost:
Some limbs, his younger brother, and his heart
‘Cause we need a leader
Someone to be a hero
I’m tired of fakers, actors, and bankers
They’re everywhere I go
They’re drawing our lifelines, making decisions
But never have to know
And everyone’s got reasons why they’re wrong
In the end we’ll end up fine and for their cause
‘Cause we need a leader
Someone to be a hero
And we fight the fire
With a bigger, brighter lighter
All that we need is everyone we know
Everyone we know
How did we get so far?
And how did we get so lost?
How did we get so far?
And how’re we getting back home?
Back home, back home…
“Leader” Written and Recorded by Ace Enders from the 2009 Album “When I Hit the Ground” by Ace Enders & A Million Different People
Tim,
Beautifully spoken as always. This one touch me deeply. Thank you for that.
This statement:
“But there is another kind of leader and hero, right in front of us. One whose journey is sometimes no less perilous and dangerous. Family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, people we meet each day and worship with, who raise families, do the right thing when others don’t, ask “how are you doing” and wait around for an answer, who bare others burdens, sit and listen and serve.
They are the makers of history whose names are never written down. They nurture what is good from one generation to the next.”
Let us never discount the ones on the highways and byways so far less seen yet God’s purpose is thriving deep in the back roads of their lives as they nurture the gifts and abilities God has put in them.
God is faithful, grow where HE has planted you. Serve him with all diligence and let us run the race with the strength only he can gives us. We are nothing without him.
Thank you Jesus for the blood applied to my life so that I could run the race well even in the suffering.
Deb