Hero or Villian

There are popular people and public figures who in our mind’s eye don’t seem as though they would ever go off into that long good night. Nelson Mandela was surely someone like that in my mind. Interestingly enough, Castro was an incredibly staunch supporter to Madiba and his cause when it was incredibly unpopular, globally, or locally to do so. Although it would seem they represent opposite ends on the villain/hero spectrum. 

A few days before He died, Jesus was the consummate hero, going through the streets of Jerusalem on a colt being proclaimed as king. Less than a week later he was still being proclaimed as a king but this time with a menacing, Machiavellian tone. Jesus was now public enemy number one. A threat to the Roman-ruled Jewish state. A villain if there ever was one. His crucifixion was inevitable. Some of the voices that proclaimed Him king now clamored for his death. These same people though, whether they saw Him as a hero or villain, will have to walk through a door splattered on its frame with His blood. There is no passing over that fact. We all must go through it. The same is with us. When things are good we tend to paint God as the hero, but when things turn for the worst we tend to see through different lenses. Nothing seems to filter our perception of God than two or three proper servings of disaster. This was the enemy’s goal when he heard God boasting about His hero on earth Job.

Yes, he’s going to love you now. The prosperity gospel is all he knows. But you just take it all away and see what happens. I bet he will curse you to your face!

How will you respond if all that you fought for, studied for, worked and cried for…were to be taken away in a few short months, weeks or even days. Would you still see God as the hero like Mandela or would He become a “Castro”. Let’s take that one step further. Would YOU remain a hero for God or become the villain?

— YorkAli Walters