Are You a Hero?

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Cast and crew Heroes of the Faith, 2004

While rummaging through the archives at SPPC we came upon a VHS recording from 2004, titled, "Heroes of the Faith." Wow! Twenty years ago the Living Flame Choir (Junior) staged a production of the musical "Heroes of the Faith." I have no idea who recorded it as there was no attribution on the tape or the box but we had a great time watching it and reliving those days.

The kids in the show are all grown up now, some with children of their own. They've scattered across the country and even to Africa, but there they are in 2004 singing their hearts out. 

The story of the play is a group of school kids going to a museum and finding displays of Biblical heroes including Moses, Deborah,(and Barak) Elijah, and David, (and Goliath.)

The theme song declares, "I want to be a true hero, a champion of the faith." The play ends with the question, "what type of hero are you?" Are you a leader like Moses, obedient like Deborah, faithful when you are old like Elijah or having the courage to do what is right when you are young like David?

We can all ponder that question. Who do you see as a hero of the faith? Is it the Old Testament characters like Daniel, and his friends Meshach, Shadrach and Abednego who refused to worship a pagan god? Daniel 3: 16-28. Is it the crafty Rehab who saved her family from destruction when she hid the Isrealite spies? Joshua 2. Long-suffering Job who held fast to his faith despite hardship and trial? Or maybe you admire Mary, a teenager who accepted God's plan for her life, even when it went against everything she'd expected?

In the New Testament we have Peter and the other disciples who gave up home and family and livelihood to follow Jesus. What about Paul who had the courage to admit he was wrong to persecute Christians and became a most ardent and tireless apostle? Barnabas, the encourager? Don't we all need an encourager as we navigate our way through life?

Throughout the ages there have been heroes of the faith. In our times we might point to Mother Theresa, or Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Billy Graham or Martin Luther King Jr. 

Or perhaps your hero is the quiet woman down the street who drives her neighbours to medical appointments. Maybe it is your grandfather who taught Christian love by example every day of your life. What about the Sunday School teacher who told you the stories of those Old Testament heroes?

Use the comments section below to vote for your favourite hero of the faith.

If you want to be a "true hero, a champion of the faith," the Bible offers this advice. "Love the Lord with all your heart . . . and your neighbour as yourself.  Matthew 22: 37-40   

Or this one "What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." Micah 6:8

Thank you to the unknown videographer who donated that VHS tape to the filing cabinet at SPPC, and kudos to my husband who never throws away an electronic component. Thanks to him we were able to watch the tape.

Heroes of the Faith  -- Not the SPPC production, but good anyway. 

Heartbreak Hill

by Peter Waldin

    His father died when he was a child.  His mother struggled to keep him, and her other children as a family, but without success.  The great industrial city of Birmingham offered little in the way of doing so.  His mother was forced to place him in a sort of orphanage.  As a child, and then as a youth, life was a joyless struggle.

    When the Great War broke out, he enlisted in the famous Rifle Brigade.  During the First Battle of Ypres he was severely wounded.  Thirteen pieces of shrapnel tore into his body, one permanently blinded him.
    He became my father and my hero.  I never saw my father despondent or cast down.  He whistled more in one day than a thousand other men throughout their lifetime.
    'And all the world's Greathearts - our heroes and saints,
       took sorrow and shaped it into a shrine;
       took the red blood of suffering,
           the purple bruise of life's hurts,
           the blackness of defeat,
        and made a window for the light of God to shine through.
      They took darkness and adversity and the world's
           brutality and made a roadway to God's heaven.
      They took their own broken hearts to help others,
            to keep kindness and hope alive.'

For it is on 'Heartbreak Hill' we meet with God.  We find 'the peace which passeth understanding.' We find our souls and become 'more than conquerors.'