Where Are All The Godly Men? - Seeking A Hero

God can be honored in the past, hoped for in the future, but never, never, be allowed to intrude in the present. (unknown)

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3: 8,9

When I was a young kid of eight and nine years old, I had two heros in my life - Superman and Roy Rogers. I did everything I could to be like them. Superman was a fictitious character but real to me. He was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to lift tall buildings with a single hand.  I would take one of my Mom's bath towels and tie it around my neck as my cape. Standing on our front porch, I would leap off pretending to fly. Upon landing on ground, I would run as fast as I could around our house knowing it was faster than Superman himself.

At other times, I was Roy Rogers. I had his six shooter, his cowboy hat, his boots, and everything that had Roy Rogers on it. He was my life. I wanted to be exactly like these guys real or not. I wanted to know them, act like them, and look like them. My goal was to clean up the universe and get rid of the bad guys. I was to save the world.

In this passage in Philippians, Paul has set Christ as his hero. He is a SEEKER of Christ. Knowing God has become his priority and passion in life. Those things that he once thought as the most important things in life, have now become rubbish. Can we picture those things in Paul's life, in our own life, that are of utmost importance to us and now count them as loss? What would some of these things be? I believe Paul recognized those things that were of temporal value and those thing that were of eternal value. Paul's priority was to chase the things of the Kingdom that is coming rather than the kingdom that is going.

Paul was SUBMITTED to God. He did not want to just know about God, but really know Him. He was willing to not only give up things for Him, but gain a righteousness that came only by putting his entire faith and trust in Him. Paul no longer existed, but Christ in him. 

And finally, Paul was willing to STAND with Him. Notice in verse ten Paul wants to know Christ to the extent of the power of His resurrection. Superman was strong and could only be killed by one thing from another planet. But that does not compare to the power of a resurrection. There is nothing more powerful in the world than being raised from the dead. Paul wanted this kind of power in his life that only came from abiding with Christ. That is glorious. But notice also, Paul deeply desired to share in his sufferings. I don't know anyone that I want to know well enough to take on their sufferings. At this point, Paul knew the horrible rejections, scorn, and physical pain Christ had been through, yet he says - bring it on. This guy, this Saviour,  is the most wonderful person he has ever known. What He has done for Paul is unbelievable. What He offers this broken world was so indescribable Paul was willing to die for Him, because he knew he would also be resurrected like Him.

I don't know many people who have come to this level of standing with Christ. We want the god we want and not the God who is. We are willing to stand with Him when we need Him. Our culture today does not know real suffering. When we miss a meal, can't buy the new car, someone ridicules us, we call this suffering. As parents, we will take any action to protect our children from having to experience sufferings. We are afraid to stand up for God in our place of work. For many, continuing to live in our marriage is to suffer, so we escape this suffering only to leave a really broken and suffering wife and children.       

Dare we, dare I, pray that Christ's kind of power as seen in Jesus comes into my life. Dare I pray that I can stand with Christ to the extent that I actually feel His sufferings. Dare I try to stand with the God who really is and not the God our culture is selling me. Dare I accept that His word is the authentic word of God and the power to stand with Him is through His infallible word. 

We need Godly men like that. There are some, and they are making a difference in this world and the lives around them. We need men encouraging other men to take this journey. I believe it would be a journey worth taking, but I need others to go with me. It is hard to do it alone. We need each other. We need a best friend to help us along the way.