Superhero Strength - and Weakness

Well, I just finished watching Iron Man  few hours ago. I am currently working my way through the avengers, in order that I can actually watch The Avengers with some relevant information about the main characters involved. So far, I have also watched Thor and Captain America. I liked each movie much more than I thought that I would (superheros were never my 'thing'). In fact, I would say that I enjoyed each movie. However, in every superhero movie that I watch, I see some common characteristics, namely, predominate strengths and weaknesses of each character. In Tony Stark/Iron Man, we can see his pride. He's got an issue with his ego. He wants to run the show his way, because he believes that it is the right way. (I'm not saying that he didn't make a good decision, but he didn't even trust Pepper, his closest friend, with his initial plan. He likes to be in control.) In Thor, we see his inability to see reason in someone else's point of view. If it doesn't match his thinking, then it is automatically wrong. When he is upset, he turns to violence and relies on his power. He also struggles with his pride. In Captain America, we see a man who isn't accustomed to being a leader. Yes, he does fit in well, but he allows some distractions to enter in and mess him up. In each of these men, we see downfalls, but we also see skilled leaders - people with drive and initiative. People who know what they want, and how they want to see it accomplished. They have a plan, a course of action, and they will stick through everything in order to see it accomplished. Somehow we always seem to look past their weaknesses and blame them on the fact that "they are still human", yet we immortalize their powers and say "their power is amazing - I wish that I had that!" We call them human in their weaknesses, but superheros in their strengths. Why is that?

Isn't this picture epic?!

We often see what we want to see - and only that. We separate the identity of these people so that they become almost like two separate people - one that we are like, and one that we want to become. I don't know about you, but I find this to be rather bizarre. Just because the "superhero" has weaknesses doesn't make them any less of a superhero. It makes them human - just like you and I. What makes them so special in our minds is not their perfection, but their ability to overcome weaknesses in order to accomplish what is necessary. They have to learn what their weaknesses are in order that they may grow strong in those areas so that they will be able to protect themselves against any enemy attack. We should do the same.

As Christians, we are called to put on the armor of God (Ephesians 6). Whenever we hear about the armor of God, we often see a picture of some Roman soldier, with the fancy headgear and shoes. When we hear of this and then relate it to going to battle, I think that we often think of fighting swords with sounds like this: "Ting. Clank. Ting. Ting." Just like a child's play. Nothing serious - and certainly not able to fight a war. Often we think of the armor of God in the same way that we might a child's tea party. The clink of glasses. However, this is not the armor of God. The armor of God is not some little frilly dress that we put on to go play for a little while before it goes back in the chest. I believe that the armor of God is a much more vivid picture when we think of it like this:

Awesome - I know.

This is all of the Avengers' armor combined into one suit of armor. We have Iron Man's breastplate. The breastplate is a covering, and I believe that it relates to being free from guilt (very difficult to explain, so my apologies for being confusing here). The sword of the Spirit has two purposes: the power of the Word of God (Thor's hammer) and the Holy Spirit itself, which always hits it's target (Hawkeye's arrows). The shield of faith is for our protection, but it can also be used as a weapon to fight the enemy (Captain America's shield). The belt of truth protects and guards us (Black Widow). The helmet of salvation protects us from the penalty of sin in the mind (Iron Man's helmet). The shoes shod with the gospel of peace (Hulk's feet) are always ready. In The Avengers (which I have yet to see, but this is a legit quote), Hulk says, "My secret Cap. is that I'm always angry." The Hulk is always ready for action; that is how it is with the shoes of the gospel of peace - they are always ready. We are at war. We need to be:

Willing

Active

Ready

So tell me, are you ready for war? Are you W.A.R.? One last thing, "If you're not willing to lose everything, then you've already lost." (Act of Valor) We have to be willing to put everything on the line in war. We have to be ready to take action when it is necessary. We have to be prepared. 

Blessings,

Hannah

*Note: the armor of God relationship to The Avengers is taken from a session given by Andrea.