Shield

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” – Philippians 4:13 (NIV)

At some point along the way in your life journey, you might have tied a towel around your neck and pretended to be a superhero.  It’s living the dream.

But,can we live “super” lives?  Maybe so.

One of my favorite parts of the Marvel superhero franchise are the movies involving Captain America/Steve Rogers.

Maybe those movies staring an enhanced super soldier turned hero can help us to see some things about our lives and why they matter.  In fact, the most successful movies in the Marvel franchise show many of these charactersistics.

Here are some thoughts on resetting our lives that we find in superhero movies:

Your Story Matters

“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” – 1 Timothy 6:12 (NIV)

Some of the worst superhero movies are the ones that seemingly ignore the source material and do not honor the “back story.”  Those movies leave out huge details and important character moments.  However, most Marvel efforts have done an incredible job of simply telling the story.

I, for one, was never a particular fan of Thor and had little expectation for the movie. But the movie told me a story of someone dealing with his own arrogance, running away from something he didn’t really want to be and struggling to find his place.

At the end of it, we all share a common story.  Is there a lesson our lives?  We reset our lives when we start to work on the story, the journey and we share that journey with others.  You’re a hero and your story matters — share it!

Bumps and All

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” – Psalm 23:4 (NIV)

Maybe it’s out of fear that we sometimes want to present ourselves as having it together better than others.  Maybe that’s why I’ve been most impressed with the Marvel efforts. 

Even superheros struggle.  Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, is arrogrant, a loner, who is living in the shadow of his father and dealing with his own legacy as a weapons maker.  Thor is arrogant and thinks more of himself than maybe he should.  Yet, in one of his most vulnerable moments he learns compassion and empathy and is prepared to sacrifice himself.  Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, begins as a weak person who doesn’t have a desire to hurt others.  He simply doesn’t want to see bullies win. 

These complications are our story.  How do we capture this? Our journey changes when we encounter the bumps along the way — warts and all. 

In the process, we realize our strenghts, weaknesses and our on struggles on the path to becoming the best version of who we can be.

There is a bigger picture

“…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

One of the fun things about Marvel’s movies comes at the end.  You sit through the thousands of names of people who worked on the movie and through the additional songs added to the soundtrack to get you there, but you do it for a reward.  The reward is a brief snippet, a 90 second clip, that takes the story you’ve just watched and ties it to the bigger picture. 

The overall vision is the formation of the “Avengers.”  Captain America, Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor — They are all just a small part of a bigger story. 

What about our stories? How do they fit into the overall story of the world?  How do our stories interact with others?

God works in all kinds of people and all kinds of stories.  The reward for us working our way through the credits, in reading through the bigger picture of Scripture, is that we find they are connected to what God is ultimately doing in the world.

Strength in service  

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” – Mark 10:45 (NIV)

Part of the fun of the superhero movie is seeing a character make that transition from running from their gifts to using them to help others.  There’s an awesome scene in the movie, “UnBreakable,” where Bruce Willis’ character is pulled out of the water (his kryptonite) and as he pulls himself to the side of the pool and stands up straight, we know that his life is never going to be the same again. 

At some point, all heroes take on the mantle of service and the risks of giving back to others.  

One of the greatest life-changers is generosity. It has the power to change us and our life stories from the inside out.  It doesn’t take a hero or superpowers to serve.  It only takes someone willing to take their life story and use part of that journey to help others in their journey.

How could service change your life?

You don’t have to be a super hero.  You just have to know the one who can help you to live a “super” life.

ReigniteMyStory.Com is based on the principle that our life stories are reignited when we reset them, renew them and redeem them.  Contact us by email at reignitemystory@gmail.com or follow us on Twitter at @reignitemystory