Hero for a Day

In Mark chapter 9, we see an incident where Jesus healed a boy who could not hear or speak, and who was apparently having violent seizures.  He addressed the boy's father:
23Jesus said to him, "If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes."24Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, "Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"25When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!"

All things are possible to the person who believes.   God specializes in doing the impossible, the unexplainable, by human standards.   In His realm, the supernatural realm, He is capable of doing things that are essentially beyond belief, in our own human understanding.  But, God wants to manifest Himself and demonstrate His love and power to us.  In the midst of hopeless situations, He comes to bring hope into our lives.  We can trust Him to do so much more than we can comprehend, and He responds to us as we come before Him in faith.   And, He will empower us to minister to people in need around us.

We serve a God who specializes in the extraordinary, and we can trust Him to meet us at the point of our need.  Jeremiah 32 says this:
17'Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for You.18You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them--the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the Lord of hosts.19You are great in counsel and mighty in work, for your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men, to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.

Miles Scott thought that he was going to the big city to get a Batman costume - and while that is true, it was just the beginning of an extraordinary story, according to a report on the KGO-TV website.   You see, Miles is 5 years old, and when he was just 18 months old, he was diagnosed with leukemia.   Enter the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which helps to fulfill the dreams of children who have life-threatening diseases.   Fortunately, Miles is in remission.

Batman is Miles' favorite superhero, so for a day, San Francisco was transformed, with the help of local officials and volunteers.  In total, an estimated 13,000 people, including scores of spectators, helped turn the city into a mock Gotham City.   Many devoted time as actors, videographers, and other roles.

Throughout his day, Miles, a.k.a. "Batkid"  rescued a damsel in distress who was tied up and placed on cable car tracks, rode in a "Batmobile", which was actually a donated Lamborghini, foiled a bank robbery by the Riddler, and rescued San Francisco Giants mascot Lou Seal from imprisonment at the hands of the Penguin.  Mayor Lee gave him the key to the city.

What an incredible day that this young man will remember forever.

I think there are some definite takeaways for us as we think about this incredible story, which attracted national attention.   First of all, we recognize that thousands were drawn to Miles and the overall event.   A good question for us is:  are we sensitive to people around us that may have life-threatening conditions, to whom we can minister?   You may know someone in your church or at your workplace or community organization that is suffering, or perhaps has a family member who has received that terminal diagnosis or has a significant medical need - there may be an opportunity for you to be the hands, feet, or heart of Jesus.

We can also think about the way that we are drawn to superheroes.   Miles liked Batman, millions are drawn to superhero movies, such as the Avengers, and other forms of entertainment centered around superheroes. As a culture, we gravitate to these heroes.   I thought about the nature of the heroic...we can ask ourselves if we might have a desire to be a hero to someone, to make a statement into somebody else's life. We may not dress up in a unusual suit or fly around the city, but we can impact someone just be demonstrating the love of Christ.   We have the capability to be strong examples to the people around us.

Miles has a life-threatening disease, and even though he is in remission, I am sure that there has been concern about his days on earth being numbered.   There could have been a greater sense of urgency to set up this magnificent drama throughout the streets of San Francisco.   But, we can each be reminded that we have a limited number of days, and if we have a call from God to do something, then we can approach it with a sense of urgency.   To delay God's dream could result in asking "what if?" if He allows us to live so long - we have the potential to have no regrets.

Batman is a superhero, but he doesn't have superpowers - he doesn't have innate qualities like Spiderman or Superman that make him special - he's just a guy who has some cool toys.    And, such is the case with each of us as Christians - we may be ordinary human beings, but in Christ, we have the capability to release the supernatural as we yield to the Spirit of God.   God specializes in doing the supernatural, even the miraculous, and He will use His people in order to perform His will.   Sometimes that may reach a level of being beyond belief, but what we might think impossible, we can know that with Him, all things are possible.