ONLINE CHURCH BULLETIN

SATURDAY MORNING HEROES

Saturday morning cartoons at Larry's (name changed to protect the guilty) house were not just spectator shows. Larry and his older brothers got up early to watch Tarzan. But after a few minutes, one of Larry's brothers would start swinging around the living room, jumping from chair to chair. He would be Tarzan, king of the jungle. It always seemed that Larry would inevitably wind up being Cheetah in the reenactment.

Then the brothers would watch Superman. Soon one of the brothers would be standing on the couch, posing as Superman with his hands on his hips and his imaginary cape billowing. Larry would have to point up and say, "It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!"

When Larry was six he got his very own Superman outfit. He was so excited that he ran to his bedroom to change. First he pulled on the pants — Superman wears pants and not tights, thank you — and then the shirt and then the cape. That's when he saw a tag that said, "Warning: This is just a costume. Only Superman can fly."

But Larry wanted to make sure. So he sneaked outside, climbed up into his favorite tree, shinnied out on a branch, and gave the old Superman jump — one arm out, one leg bent under. When he came to, Larry decided not to test the bullet thing.

Larry wore his Superman costume everywhere — to the grocery store, to the bank. He even tried to wear it to church, but his father drew the line. People made fun of Larry, but he didn't care. Superman was his hero. When you have a hero, you want to look like that person. You want to act like that person — no matter who laughs.

It's been said that we should choose our heroes carefully because sooner or later, we'll resemble them. Larry has a new hero now. He found Him in a book. "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma." (Ephesians 5:1-2)

For His Cause,
Tim Woodward