As a child, I grew up watching cartoons with Superman and his superhero friends and… even had a short-lived crush on Christopher Reeves after watching the first Superman movie (SHHH… don’t tell my husband!). Even with all those years of Superman watching (I prefer to call it “research”), it wasn’t until I watched, Man of Steel, that I understood the background behind this superhero. All these years I thought the Superman logo, in the shape of an S, stood for Superman. Come to find out… the logo actually is Superman’s family crest AND the Kryptonian symbol for… wait for it… HOPE!
Diving into the origins of the Superman cartoon, I discovered that the creators, Jerry Siegel and Joel Shuster, did not purposefully write their cartoon with the Gospel story of Jesus in mind. However, they stumbled upon the epic Biblical plot when creating their out-of-this-world superhero; drawing from Biblical characters such as Samson, for his unmatched strength and Moses, for his determination, leadership and character. While creating Superman during the dark time of the Great Depression and on the cusp of war with Hitler, it has been documented that Siegel and Shuster were looking for a savior figure they could relate to… one that gave them inspiration and HOPE. Returning to the significance of the Superman logo, it is in the shape of a triangle, representing the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Furthermore, the triangle points down signifying God’s relationship with man and the gift of His only son to mankind… JESUS!
I could go on and on with the many parallels of Superman to Jesus, however, I believe you get the point. While not diminishing these parallels, the goal of this post is to inspire us to be superheroes as we go through our daily lives; spreading HOPE with our words and actions. While we may not be made of steel, we can be a symbol of strength. While we may not be able to fly, we can support others from falling. While we may not have x-ray vision, we can see into people’s hearts and speak life into their souls. I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty super-heroic to me!
You see, as a believer in Jesus, we are indwelled by The Holy Spirit. That’s right… as believers, we have God in us wherever we go, whatever we do… at ALL times. The Holy Spirit fills our hearts and minds with God’s Word. With that, comes wisdom and power that only God can provide. Where those who don’t believe only see an S in the shape of a triangle, we see HOPE… an eternal HOPE… a HOPE that never fails regardless of the circumstances. We are powered by God to inspire others with HOPE. It’s God’s power, NOT our power.
My pastor symbolizes our short time on this earth with a SMALL piece of blue tape on a very LONG rope. We must make that short time, in the scope of infinity, count… for God’s glory… on a daily basis. Ironically, we can have a SIGNIFICANT impact on others by doing “INSIGNIFICANT” things: sending a text, giving a hug, taking time out of our day to share a devotional or words of encouragement... you get the picture. I have come across many stories where people were contemplating suicide, even at the point of performing the act, when someone’s words transformed their lives. We can BE a superhero to someone each day, sometimes without even knowing it.
The awesome power (and HOPE) that comes with being someone else’s superhero is boomerang effect contained within. When you SHARE HOPE with others, you RECEIVE HOPE in return. You don’t lose HOPE when you give it away… you gain HOPE! When you speak life into someone else’s soul, you speak life into your own; giving you even more HOPE to share. In God’s economy, little things reap exponential rewards!
Jesus is our Superman… the only hero we need. Our HOPE is in Him because He is our all-powerful SuperHOPE! He conquered death on the cross and rose again. HE saved us so WE can save others. We don’t have to have our own superpowers, just God’s power; giving others HOPE. Thank you Superman… for your message of HOPE; symbolizing the fact that Jesus is with us no matter the decade, century or millennium. His SuperHOPE makes us Super-HOPE-ic!
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