heroes

what is strength?  what makes a hero?

when it all comes down to it, it really has nothing to do with physical strength or ability. in the past couple weeks, i've see two of my greatest heroes weakened, even to the point of death, and yet they are still a couple of the strongest men i have, and probably ever will, know.

one of these men is my grandfather. having served bravely in the korean war, and being a very large, physically strong man, i would say that he would be considered a strong, heroic man my just about anybodies standards, but these things pale in comparison to his true strength, and these are not why he is one of my heroes. one week ago, almost to the hour, he died, having suffered 4 strokes and 3 heart attacks in less than 2 days. all his physical strength failed him, but when i saw him lying in his hospital bed, comatose and only kept alive by the machines that breathed for him, i still saw a man with unparalleled strength. for over fifty years he gave his life to serving God. he started 5 churches across the country, 1 christian school, witnessed to countless people, and he had the strongest faith i have ever seen in a man. he lived his life in a way that shined God's glory to every single person that ever met him, even up until he was lying in the hospital dying. he put Christ first in absolutely everything that he did, and he never missed an opportunity to talk about his Lord and saviour. he had no fear of death, because he knew exactly where he was headed. i hope and pray that God can use me like He did my grandpa. he is a hero and a role model to me, and always will be.

another man who has shown me what true strength is a man named coach j. about 2 years ago, he was diagnosed with brain cancer. they did surgery, and God blessed him by removing every single trace of cancer. because of the surgery, his ability to walk and move was impaired some, but for 20 months God kept him completely cancer free. recently however, the doctors found 2 new tumors in his brain. he is currently undergoing chemo and radiation treatments, as well as experimental treatments to try to rid him of his cancer. currently, he can't walk because of the weakness caused by the treatments and the cancer itself, and he basically doesnt have any use of his left arm, but NOT ONCE have i EVER heard him complain about any of this. through all of this, he has given praise to Christ, and grown ever closer to God and stronger in his faith. he's even used these events as an opportunity to witness to the hospital staff that have worked on him. even more, because of how he has handled himself, and the fact that he hasn't let this all stop him from going to work as the dean of men at my former high school, and a football coach there too, he has an incredible inspiration and role model to every single young man that he has been in contact with, including myself. he has taught me how to truly stand strong in the face of darkness, even when can't stand at all.

real strength has nothing to do with muscles or power, and true heroes are at their greatest when they are weakest. these bodies of ours, no matter how hard we try to stop it, WILL wither away, and our strength will fade along with the rest of this world, and there is nothing we can do about it. in the past 6 months, God has been drilling these things into my head, and the past couple weeks have driven them home even further than before. real strength is realizing that in actuality, you have absolutely no strength at all, and your only hope is to rely on the strength of the Lord, who is stronger than you can ever even imagine, and a real hero is the man knows these things and allows God to work in him however He sees fit, no matter what, even if it means breaking his body... even if it means death. i am blessed enough to know a few men like this, two of whom i've just described. i thank God that He has put them in my life to guide me and teach me, to be my heroes.