Sunday, June 11, 2006

MY HEROES

I have people in my life (many!) who seem like average joe citizens, but are nothing less than Incredible! They have encourage me to be better than I am, they have rescued me, they have inspired me. My world would not be the same without them.
What a daunting task to face...leading during division, civil war. Here was a man who was a keeper of unity in the face of discord on a national level and in his own home.
Did you know that RW gave 90% of his royalties from his Purpose Driven books away? And he also payed back his entire salary from the church he started up? Have to admire someone who puts his money where his mouth is.
OW struggled with his faith & his call...he really wanted to be an artist...and died on the mission field. His words continually challange me to a deeper, abandoned type of relationship with God.
His dream was and remains the dream of many. To stand in the face of hate, anger, and injustice and reach out a hand of brotherhood and peace...a clarion call that still rings.
I often wonder if I would have been brave enough to hide a Jew during the Nazi regime. Hers is a vivid testimony of what one life, one seemingly insignificant family can accomplish, endure, and forgive.
What would I lose for the kingdom of heaven? What would I sacrifice? How much of tradition and self will I die to so that I am fulfilling my part in God's plan? How much do I trust God? JHT, by his own example, makes me wonder.
And a Hero amongst Heroes!! The lodestar that all my other Heros looked to find their strength, courage, love, endurance, inspiration, purpose, wisdom, and salvation. My Hero...who rides the winds and commands the seas, who was and is and always will be, a King of all kings, who forsook all to suffer and redeem me to Himself. He is a conqueror. He is Almighty. He is divine. He is glorious. He is beyond imagination yet as close as a whisper.

2 comments:

Tracey, in MI said...

Totally concur.

If I had to pick one behind Jesus- I'd have to go with Corrie TenBoom.... absolutely. That is faith in action.

Rick? Anointed.

Who's Hudson Taylor? (I'm a loser....educate me sister!)

KayMac said...

Husdson Taylor is considered as having opened the missionary doors in China in the 1800's. His biography was one of the most compelling books I have EVER read. Corrie Ten Boom (The Hiding Place) and her family hid Jews during WWII. They were imprisoned for this & some of her family died in the concentration camps. After her release, God used her testimony in a mighty way. She was one of the most inspiring and authentic Christian speakers I have ever heard