HERO!

I saw Casino Royale the other day. Superman Bond! He comes through every conceivable disaster and contemplated destruction untouched, unscathed, intact, invincible. Neither the most shocking assaults on his person—poisonings, tortures, imprisonments, gunfire, knifings—nor the most devious and despicable schemes of a host of gangsters, malefactors, and other insalubrious opponents of the worthy Double-O-Seven can touch the guy. Superhero incarnate.

Nonetheless, unlike previous Bond movies, this one shows the MI6 agent more vulnerable, darker, and intense, even falling in love. Human! While Bruce Wayne pretends to be Batman, and Peter Parker pretends to be Spiderman, James Bond really is 007 … and human. And so Casino Royale, making our man more human than superhuman, succeeds in portraying an attractive protagonist—“like” one of us, yet beyond all of us.

How we yearn to see these knights accomplish their world-saving missions successfully. Whether it be James Bond, or one of your other favorite strongmen du jour, there is a hunger in mankind for these folk heroes and their fantastic fables that transcend reality as they combat the nefarious purposes of noxious predators. If only such a person were real, rescuing us from the evils and evildoers of the universe!

The Good News is that He is! Real. Skin and sinew. Bone and blood. Mortal flesh! But also King of kings and Lord of lords. Immortal God!

And the Word became flesh,
and dwelt among us,
and we saw His glory,
glory as of the only begotten
from the Father,
full of grace and truth.
John 1:14

[Jesus Christ] emptied Himself,
taking the form of a bond-servant,
and being made
in the likeness of men.
Philippians 2:7

And He became man in order to rid the universe of sin and Satan.

He appeared in order to take away sins.
1 John 3:4

[God sent] His own Son
in the likeness sinful flesh
and as an offering for sin ….
Romans 8:3

Like the fictions of some of our concocted heroes, this unparalleled True Story—the Greatest Story ever told—depicts a Savior who is fully human, grieving, rejoicing, eating, weeping, and undergoing the agonies of a crucifixion. For me. For you.

He Himself bore our sins
in His body on the cross,
so that we might die to sin
and live to righteousness;
for by His wounds
you were healed.
1 Peter 2:24

But God demonstrates
His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

And as with the ongoing sagas of Bond, Kent, Parker, Wayne, et al., as they capture viewers with a story unfinished, a finale yet to be finalized, so also His Story continues, as God beckons our participation, calling upon us to join our Hero, in the furtherance of His Kingdom, where He will reign forever and ever.

Indeed, the battle is as good as over, the victory as good as won. Our Superhero never loses. What a blessed assurance, as we step into a new year of our lives this week. No matter what might happen, no matter what unknowns we may encounter, we can rest assured in the knowledge that our Lord lives, our Savior loves, our King reigns. Our Hero has conquered!

For we do not have a high priest
who cannot sympathize
with our weaknesses,
but One who has been
tempted in all things
as we are, yet without sin.
Therefore let us draw near
with confidence
to the throne of grace,
so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help
in time of need.

Hebrews 4:15–16