Tuesday, March 22, 2005

Heroes

A few days ago I was fortunate enough to have rented a good movie. (I know there aren't many new releases to write home about, but this one was definitely worth the rental.) Ladder 49 was with me for a handful of days thanks to BLOCKBUSTER's new "no late fees", which is actually just an extra eight days on all of your rentals. Little does BLOCKBUSTER management know that they could have made millions just on my late charges alone, but hey, I'll take the extra eight days and probably a few more, only to now be charged for the entire movie. Oh well.... Anyway, where was I? Oh yes, Ladder 49....

In the wake of 9-11, this movie looks at the life of one firefighter from Baltimore and shares his life and work with you. It's a very powerful movie that truly presents firefighters as heroes--men and women that are willing to put their lives at risk on behalf of the lives of others.

I've been thinking about this hero piece for a few weeks now--ever since a marine from our church died while on his second tour of duty over in Iraq. Kevin Clarke was 21 years old, and he died defending our freedom. I had the overwhelming opportunity to play piano and sing at the funeral, which was unquestionably the most difficult musical performance of my entire life. Everything went quite well at the funeral service. The entire morning was a grand celebration of the life of this young man, who was declared a national hero.

Between that experience and this new movie, Ladder 49, I've been faced with thoughts about being a hero. I've been really wondering what makes people take risks with their own lives in order to potentially save perfect strangers? Why would a firefighter risk dying and leaving behind his wife and two young kids in order to save the life of someone trapped in a crumbling building? Why would Kevin Clarke give up his youth in defense of a cause that was not directly impacting his family or friends in any way? I really don't get it. I don't know if I could take the risks that those in those public service positions take on a regular basis. They truly are heroes!

After having Ladder 49 play pretty much non-stop for about ten nights or so, it hit me...I finally realized why firefighters run back into a burning building to save one life and why military personnel travel to a hostile land and fight: they think it's worth it. To them, the pros outweigh the cons. To them, service is not an option, it's a mandate. Wow. I have a lot to learn about being a hero. As a Christian, I often keep the truth of the person of Jesus Christ to myself. I hoard the only truth that truly saves people rather than "risking it" to potentially save one. And what am I "risking" anyway? My pride? ...risking being liked? If you're like me and you claim the cause of Christ, then you and I need to consider what we've been called to. We have been mandated to "go and make disciples of all nations", and yet, at times, I can't even find the time to tell some of my "closest friends" about the hope that I have in Jesus. Firemen run into burning buildings because they value human life enough to take the risk. I need to value human life enough to share the truth--that Jesus is the only way. I need to stop being so selfish and think of the potential outcome: life-change for all eternity. Are you at all like me? Christ's cause is worth it, isn't it?! I want to be a hero today. Are you with me?