Wednesday in the Word: Superhero Faith

Kids are amazing. Give them a towel, and safety pin, and a pair of red underpants to wear on the outside of their clothes and suddenly they’re Superman or Supergirl. Or they stomp around growling as a dinosaur. Maybe they crawl on  hands and knees, rubbing up against everything, meowing and insisting they’re a cat.

Kids choose what they want to be, imagine it, and become that character until time to come inside for lunch. But we all know that superhero, dinosaur, or cat are only the products of their imaginations. Our little crime fighter can’t fly. Our little dino didn’t escape extinction.

But for the time they’re playing, the name, the title is all it takes to make them someone they long to be.

Titles and names can inspire us as well. What believer doesn’t love to claim child of the King? The name alone evokes a sense of worth and belonging.

Sometimes a name can push us to be more than we thought possible. Our church’s name, Chosen Generation, is a reminder of what God wants for us. I love the verses that we take our name from. 1 Peter 2:9-10 says, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”

In these verses God’s people find out much about who they are. chosen, royal priesthood, holy nation, special people, the people of God, those who have obtained mercy. These things should move us to proclaim God’s praises, to tell others what He’s done for us.

Like children, we can cling to these names, claiming them as our own. But to simply own the name doesn’t give us the power that comes with those names. God gave them to us for a reason. He wants others to see Himself in us. We don’t show that to others by claiming the name any more than a child with a towel safety pinned around his neck can fly simply by announcing himself Superman.

To really become who God declares us to be, we need to keep reading. “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good words which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:11-12

To transform into the believers God describes in verses 9-10 takes living the way God describes in verses 11-12.  Using the Holy Spirit’s power to live godly lives turns those titles into our true identity. It allows the world to see God in us so they can glorify God.

I want to be a royal priesthood and a chosen generation instead of playing make believe. I want my life to be filled with the Holy Spirit’s power to bring glory to God’s name. My prayer is that what I say and what I do  complement each other so when I proclaim God’s praises, others will know it’s true.

It’s easy to play pretend. But titles aren’t worth much if God can’t transform us into all the things He made us to be. It’s not always easy, but I think it’s worth it. What about you?