Burger And Fries with A Side of Fellowship

My husband, daughter and I grabbed a P-Terry's treat for lunch the other day. We ravenously ripped into our $2.45 burgers. When our stomach growlings' were satisfied we found a little time for some fun Bible discussion. Nathan mentioned how he was reading the book of Daniel and how the Old Testament can be a trippy read. He said, " It amazes me that men like Daniel stood against the societal, cultural and even legal laws of the land yet still rose to high positions within the community."  It is pretty interesting to see how God elevates a person through the world's system to be His enforcer, or example or a stop-gap.

Photo By: pointnshoot

Being a  hobby reader; an amateur literature buff, this topic was right up my alley. Any good story or epic novel has a hero who is characterized as being the underdog, the one who knows something the others don't yet prevails despite warnings of loss and may be riddled with weaknesses that should end his journey but become his saving grace.

This is why I love reading the real life accounts of the Bible. God used men, who knew and understood the important detail of a submissive, relationship with God, and were plagued with weakness; and only because of their dependence on God did they become a hero in God's service bringing all the glory to Him. How can anyone not get excited about that.

Take, for instance, the account of Gideon, Judges: 6,7. Even before Gideon is a hero, the Angel of the Lord calls him a Mighty Warrior. (6:12) Gideon's underdog quality shows up when he says, "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family."  Then Gideon does something bold even though it was in the dark, (a direct command from God) and destroys one of the World's icons of "untruth", the idol of Baal. This action really gets the world's attention and stirs up a hornet's nest. Gideon's weakness makes an entrance as he squirms and doubts and struggles with the task bestowed upon him, he asks for signs from God even to the point of begging God not to be angry with him for asking for the signs. God is gracious and grants Gideon his requests, a bit of a confidence builder,  he needs it because the next day God cuts his man power down to three hundred in a curiously odd fashion too, keeping those that were crazy enough for the task. God keeps the climax titillating as he encourages Gideon to sneak into the enemies camp at night and eavesdrop on a conversation. Gideon is grateful for the revealed secrets of the enemies and at the next watch, Gideon smashed jars and blew trumpets causing the enemy to panic, scatter and turn their swords on each other. The art of confusion took care of the Midianites and the victory was attributed to God.

How could any of this happen without talking to and knowing God? As you read other heroic accounts in the Bible, the theme appears, men having relationship with God and the realities born out from that!

The really neat thing is this still happens today! Although the heroes are rare, it is amazing to see God's unchanging ways in the people that follow Him. I am lucky enough to know a few heroes in the making. He's the author and finisher of our faith, and I hope my role will bring honor to Him. (Hebrews 12:2)

Before I end this little ditty, I want to always point to the Ultimate Hero, Jesus. He came into the world in underdog status, He was not weak but weakness (sin) was put upon Him. He was the ultimate example of how to walk and talk and live out God's will. He willingly went to the cross and died for you and me. And this is where is gets EPIC, He conquered sin and death and rose from the dead so you and I can have the means to enter into relationship with God, and that is not a fairytale but reality so glorious one's soul can only soar with the understanding of it!