OUR REAL LIFE SUPERHERO

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk.com.

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.”

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

1 Chronicles 28:8-10

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

How well can you see?

I used to see pretty well until I got older. Around age 45, I found that I had increasing trouble reading small print, especially in my Bible and after visiting the optometrist. I ended up having to wear reading glasses to compensate for a loss of eyesight. To see far away things, I take my glasses off and rely on my unaided vision but put something in front of me and it’s blurred unless I have my glasses on. Maybe you have the same problems.

I will say that no matter whether I have my glasses on or off, there are just some things I can’t see. I sit here in my room over the garage typing and can see what’s going on in my room but have no idea what my wife is doing in the room on the other side of the house. I hear her but I definitely can’t see her or what she is doing. I would need x-ray vision like Superman to do that.

And whenever I do see someone within my line of sight, I can’t see anything about them except what is on the outside. I cannot see inside their bodies to see what they are feeling or thinking. I can’t know what condition their heart is in. No one can just look at someone and do that. We would need x-ray vision like Superman in order to.

Obviously, none of us are like Superman. No one is because he is a fictional character, fashioned by the mind of writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in the early 1930’s. While laying out the qualities of Superman, these two men chose to have him possess every quality greater than what an ordinary man would possess thus making him a super man. Those qualities included flight, invulnerability, heat vision, and superhuman strength, breath, intelligence, memory, and speed. Superman’s sensory abilities were beyond any normal man’s to include x-ray vision, the ability to see through what obstruct anyone else. 

Most of us marvel at superheroes as we read about them or go to movies that portray them. Many times, we even wish we had a real superhero alive today.

The good news is that we all do have one. In fact, He has been around since creation began.

Unlike Superman who did have vulnerabilities, something that all man-made constructed superheroes have in common, our real life superhero has no weakness and will never be defeated. He is always protecting and serving, ever ensuring that justice prevails over the world we live in. He defeats our enemies and saves us from them. And He does so displaying a power that is unexplainable, indescribable, and unrivaled.

Yes, we have a real life superhero and His name is the Lord, the same Lord that David is talking about as he turns over his throne to his son Solomon. Look at these words from the 28th Chapter of 1 Chronicles:

“So now I charge you in the sight of all Israel and of the assembly of the Lord, and in the hearing of our God: Be careful to follow all the commands of the Lord your God, that you may possess this good land and pass it on as an inheritance to your descendants forever.”

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every desire and every thought. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever. Consider now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be strong and do the work.”

Note here that David exhorted Solomon to ensure he stayed in good favor of his superhero, to remain His ally. David knew all too well that you did not want to become an enemy of the Lord and thus fall under His judgment. For that judgment would come in the way of the Lord displaying His superhuman powers in a way that would bring Him the victory each and every time. David had a taste of the Lord’s judgment and knew that he didn’t want Solomon to repeat his mistake. Thus he told his son to carefully follow all of the Lord’s commands. Remain obedient to the Lord and His super powers would be used for you. Cross the Lord and you can expect His powers wielded against you.

But it wasn’t all about obedience unto the Lord of all, the superhero over all mankind. For service was also an important requirement for anyone allied with the Lord.

We know this because David, after urging Solomon to remain obedient to the Lord’s commands, exhorted him to acknowledge the Lord and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind. And lest you decided you would show devotion externally while scheming to meet you own desires on the inside, David reminded his son (and us as well) that the Lord has x-ray vision and is able to peer into the very heart of every human being, understanding our every thought and desire.

Wow! Now if this doesn’t call you and me to a higher plain of accountability and responsibility, I don’t know what will. Because you might be able to hide things from people but you will never hide anything from a real life superhero like the Lord who will judge us for whatever He discovers when He looks within. David highlights the two possible outcomes of the Lord’s inward assessment:

1. If we are seeking the Lord and His desires, then we will find Him and He will ensure we are protected, provided for, and led to righteousness in and through Him.

However, if we choose to pursue our own desires then:

2. When the Lord seeks us and finds us rejecting Him, then He will in turn reject us, not just in the here and now but forever.

And this is not the place anyone should want to be.

Friends, we live in a world filled with uncertainties and dangers and hardships. It’s enough sometimes to unnerve even the strongest person. But thanks be to the Lord that He has reigned, is reigning, and will always reign as the one and only real life superhero that will never be defeated.

Through Him and only through Him, we, like Solomon, can carry out the final encouragement of David in our passage to “be strong and do the work” of sharing the good news of Jesus with others. He will always ensure we are successful to that end.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com