You Can Be a Hero

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” -John 15:12-13 

Something was different about the little village of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon in France. Unlike most communities across the country, this town hid their Jews from the Nazis during World War II. A journalist one day wanted to see what kind of heroes would risk everything for the lives of others, so he took a trip to Le Chambon-sur-Lignon.

The journalist was floored when he arrived to find these people weren’t particularly smart or brave. But they were faithful believers in Christ who had learned from their local pastor what it meant to love others. And over time, doing what’s right just became a habit for them. So they did.

When we think about the word “hero” today, images come to mind of people who are exceptional to everyone else. But the truth is that most heroes today are astonishingly ordinary. They’re simply people who see a need and do what God would have them do to respond.

If you’ll allow God to take control in your life, determining who to help and how, He can use you just like He used the people of that humble French village. Make yourself available to Him. Love others as Jesus loves you. When you simply respond according to the Spirit of God, there’s no limit to what God can do for others through you!

Prayer Challenge:

Pray and surrender yourself to God as a vehicle of His radical, heroic love for others.

Questions for Thought:

Think of a time when someone showed love for you in a very big way. How did it make you feel?

What might change in your life today if you completely surrendered to God by letting His love for others impact everything you do?