Spiderman

I just finished up the superheroes of the faith last night. We talked about the biggest superhero in pop culture today - Spiderman. The three movies have broken box office records, while affirming positive values and quality character.

Uncle Ben's words to Peter Parker echo through each movie: "With great power comes great responsibility." To Spiderman that meant because he had been given great powers, he had a responsibility to use those powers in a great way - to do good and protect the innocent. He shouldn't use them to make money (as he tried to do in the first film), give up on using his powers completely (the second film) or use them to gain personal popularity and enact vengeance (the most recent movie). He was always reminded of the message that Uncle Ben gave him and it guided his life as he tried to life up to that standard.

As a Christian, we have an even greater power than Peter Parker - the power that raised Christ from the dead. God has called us through that power to be His people on earth. 1 Peter 2:9:

But you are a chosen people, royal priests, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. You were chosen to tell about the wonderful acts of God, who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

The second part of the verse alludes to the fact that our calling has a purpose, which Peter more explicitly explains in verse 12:

People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.

Our God-given responsibility is to live our lives in such a way that non-Christians around us see the good things we do and they glorify God over them. In fact some people will glorify God on the day when Christ comes again because they have received Him after seeing our good works.

God has saved us for service. Our great power and blessings that God has given us are not for us to simply grab for ourselves and sit inside the church doing nothing with them. We are to use them to live God-honoring lives and see others come to know Him because of our lifestyle. That is a huge responsibility, but God has given us a huge power to accomplish it.

Anytime you see Spiderman, remember the directive that Uncle Ben gave him, but even more remember the mission that God has given you. Remember that while you have great power from God, you also have a great responsibility to live a life that causes unbelievers to recognize Christ in you and glorify God.