Now a break from your regular programming. I want to talk about heroes, in particular how hard they are to find. Being an idealist by nature I believe strongly in the use of heroes to lift people up and make them act like better people. So why is it so hard for me to find heroes? First of all in the land of the living I have found few men to look up to, and almost all of them have been people I have met. Looking to history and literature I find many more heroes available. This leads me to believe that heroism is a value that was hold higher in earlier years.
Anyway, enough of me talking about how few heroes I have found. I hold a deep affection for the humans I have found to inspire me. We are told to love our neighbors, and I try to do that. Some people make it easier by inspiring us to be better. My primary heroes in the past few years have been biblical men of God and writers of great literature. A few other historical figures join the list. I look up to:
Kurt Vonnegut (author of Cat's Cradle)
J.R.R. Tolkien (author of the Hobbit)
Dr. Suess (Green Eggs and Ham)
FDR and "Teddy" Roosevelt
David of biblical fame
Joseph of biblical fame
Abraham, father of two nations, also great biblical fame
Jesus, obviously
But finding real men of God in the world outside of the bible has been hard, especially men who had success. But today I was meditating on the amazing things God has done in my life, and who he has made me become. In a moment after that I remembered a quote from one of the hardest books I have read so far in my life. "If you keep going like you just started, you will be the greatest man of all time." I have had an older man pay a compliment on me that reminded me of this. Of course my ego is pretty strong so it remembers these things.
The man who wrote those words is Charles Dickens. He wrote A Christmas Carol and Oliver Twist. I wish I had read more of his books, because when you look at his life he was a pretty amazing guy. He had it pretty rough as a kid, his family was poor and they suffered for it. It was a different time, and his father actually went to prison for unpaid debt. I love how this changed how Dickens viewed money and social systems. It made him one of the strongest voices for social change. He had a HUGE impact. He is viewed by many as one of the greatest authors of all time. His themes are immortal themes, of love and justice triumphing over those that conspire to do evil.
So there are many reasons to admire him. He did something no one else was doing, called society out on it's injustice, and society changed! So, I looked into who he was, and found faith at it's root. He was a man of God, though not a religious man. What a distinction. At the time the church had backed social injustice. It was part of what was wrong with the world. Yet he held on to faith. I can't emphasize how amazing it is to discover someone I really want to meet in heaven. It is unsure whether many noteworthy men will be there, but I feel there is a really good chance that I can meet Charles Dickens on the other side. This gives me hope that at least there will be one other human soul I will want to hang out with after I die.
This is so great, for years I've followed the path that God has put under my feet, he has ordered my steps and granted me favor and wisdom. Many times I have had issues coming to terms with death because so many "Christians" are the last sort of people you'd want to spend eternity with. Yet I know God is good, and that he stands in judgement over all, and I have had to hope without any evidence other than God being good to me in this life to guide me. Now I have some hope for good company in heaven. I hope this gives you some hope, knowing God is good to answer even the prayers we don't say.
Every good tree gives good fruit, if you make good decisions, speak good things, will God not honor it and take care of you? In my life I know I have helped people, and I have sown good seed. There is a law of the universe that says that from good seed (my hard work), planted in good soil (in faith and hope in God) will bring forth it's fruit (life getting better). I know that God has invested in me as well, sown seeds of knowledge and strength. That investment will pay dividends, just watch. Today he has shown me what is true.
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