Heroes, they are everywhere. If you look through history there were many heroes, whether Biblical heroes like Esther or everyday heroes like firefighters. But what makes a hero? A hero is a normal person; they just chose to do extraordinary things with their lives. Instead of watching T.V. they chose to help at the food shelter. Instead of buying things for themselves, they buy things for the homeless man at the corner. Some heroes get more recognition than others, perhaps you know someone who is a hero, but has never been on T.V. or ever been written about. Even though someone was greatly recognized does not make them a greater hero. A hero is a hero, but there are some pretty amazing heroes that we can learn from, such as Abraham Lincoln or Mother Theresa. No matter the extent of the hero, God sees each and every one and rewards them in heaven. I intend to tell you of Amy Carmichael and Corrie Ten Boom, two ordinary people who felt a calling from God. Each is special in her own way, but they both looked the evils of the world in the eye and risked their lives to save others.
Amy Carmichael and Corrie Ten Boom are great hero examples because they gave their entire lives to God for the good of others. Many people in life think that they don’t have to really do anything special or really go out of their way for anyone. They think that they can just coast through life and really only worry and care about themselves. God instructs us to help those in need and Amy and Corrie are perfect illustrations. We need to spend more of our time helping others rather than focusing on ourselves. Not only should we give, but give from our hearts.
In some senses, Amy Carmichael was not exactly the perfect candidate to be a missionary. In fact, she had a disease called neuralgia, which had her bedridden at times due to weakness and painful aches. Even though she was plagued by this disease she still felt a calling to be a missionary. She chose India to help the suffering children there. She mostly helped the Indian temple girls. She often wore Indian clothes and dyed her skin brown with dark coffee. She then would travel miles along the hot, dusty roads just to save one child. She founded an organization called the Dohnavur Fellowship that became a sanctuary for more than a thousand children, who otherwise would have had a miserable life. Amy once said this, “It is more important that you should know about the reverses than about the successes of the war. We shall have all eternity to celebrate the victories, but we have only the few hours before sunset in which to win them. We are not winning them as we should, because the fact of the reverses is so little realized, and the needed reinforcements are not forthcoming, as they would be if the position were thoroughly understood." She is saying that we only have so much time to help and bring people to God and we could use all the help we can get, but not much help is coming.
Even before the war, Corrie was known for her charitable and hospitable work in the community. At first her family and herself only helped her neighbors, the Weils, but soon others heard of the Ten Boom’s generosity. Since her family housed so many Jews, they decided to create a hiding place. They built a false wall in Corrie’s room, because it was the highest in the house, thus giving the Jews more time to hide. The Ten Booms helped many Jews escape to safety. Unfortunately, her entire family was arrested on February 28, 1944 and her father, sister and she were sent to concentration camps. During her time in the camps she and her sister Betsie would minister to the other prisoners. Her life wasn’t exactly easy, but she made the best of it and trusted God. Corrie once said this, "We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world and the spiritual agents are from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore, we must wear the "whole armor of God," that we may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when we have fought to a standstill, we may still stand our ground." This is the true mindset of a hero, to stop at nothing to end evil for God.
Heroes are not born, heroes are made. Being a hero is a choice, not a burden. Today’s media thinks that a hero has to have extraordinary powers or skills, to be masked and to fight villains, but a true hero is a normal person who uses their gifts to their full extent to further the kingdom of God. Whether that is fighting evil or simply just helping out a neighbor. Do not think that a hero is greater than anyone else. They in fact are normal people that chose to have a great load to carry and could use all of the help they can get. Heroes are great people, but anyone can be a hero. Unfortunately, not many people want to be heroes. The question is will you be a hero?
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