Another hero bites the dust: Lance Armstrong confessed to Oprah Winfrey that he cheated. He used performance enhancing drugs to win bicycle races.
Why am I not surprised? Throughout biblical history, God showed us fallen heroes and failed solutions to prepare us for the only solution that works.
- With Noah, God used a flood to start over and afterward the people still turned against God.
- With Moses, God led His people out slavery into freedom, but they grumbled in the wilderness.
- With Joshua, God gave His people rich, fruitful promised land and they built altars to other gods.
- With Samuel, God gave His people a wise judge to lead them, but they demanded a king.
- With David, God gave His people a great king and even the king disobeyed God and the people turned from God.
A great king isn’t enough because no earthly king lasts; eventually even the best hero stumbles, fails or passes away.
Our fallen heroes should teach us that we need more than an earthly hero. This world will be guaranteed peace and justice only when a perfect king sits on the throne forever and that king has released us from the bondage of sin and death.
In my opinion, much of what we talk about in church these days is too focused on making ourselves “great kings” and building a “great kingdom” here and now. We waste a great deal of energy working toward perishable goals — goals that the next “king” may reverse.
We live in great homes with a great marriage, a great family, a great job and attend a great church. But we need an eternal home, an eternal marriage, an eternal family, an eternal job and an eternal church. Great kings can not ensure lasting peace, mercy and grace. Only eternal kings can do that.
When a hero disappoints us, we have two choices: We can reject heroes altogether or we can seek a real hero who will never fail, disappoint or leave us. There is only One hero who will not fail.