Last Friday (8/10/07) we watched Superman Returns. It's a really great movie and deals with the idea of a world needing a savior. That was our topic of discussion in the middle of the movie.
There is a scene where Superman finds Lois and asks to be interviewed. After Superman left, Lois wrote an article titled, "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." She even won the Pulitzer for this article. Superman confronts her about this and then takes her up into the sky. "You said the world doesn't need a savior. But I hear people that need my help everyday."
The word "savior" is in the Bible almost 40 times. "Save", or some variation of it is in the Bible over 320 times. This idea of being saved is there a lot. Many of the Old Testament references were in the Psalms (i.e. Psalm 69). David and other authors cried out to God a lot for salvation from their enemies. Let's take a step back again. What is the Old Testament about (in general)? Is it not many stories of God's people forgetting about Him, God allowing the Israelites to be put into danger or some bad situation, God's people crying out to Him, God saving them (often working through a person of great faith), and God being close to His people again?
It doesn't take a genius to see this idea in the New Testament with our Savior Jesus Christ. Look at I Timothy 4:9-10. The living God is the Savior of all men. Jesus Christ, being fully God coming down as a human, put His heavenly glory on hold and lived a perfect, sinless life. He sacrificed His own life and took on the wages of everyone's sins through His death on the cross. Those of us who believe that know our citizenship is in heaven. Earth is only a temporary home. We eagerly await for our Savior to return and transform our earthly bodies into something like His (Phil 3:20-21).
Does God hear people's voices that need Him everyday like Superman? Our talks revealed yes, God does hear people in need everyday, but there are differences. For example, Superman is not everywhere at once, although he is very fast, like God is. If you saw Bruce Almighty with Jim Carrey, you may recall a scene while God grants Bruce his divine powers for a short time. Bruce checks all the e-mails to God. He gets frustrated due to the amount of e-mails so he just grants all the requests given to him. Do you think God is like that at all? Probably not. People need God and Superman in different ways. But despite the differences, the similarities are apparent as well.
How about you? Have you helped someone out in a big way? If someone comes to you with a serious problem, don't make fun of them for it. Just listen to them and try to understand. If you think God is asking you to take a couple extra steps to help them, then take courage and step forward.
related songs that come to mind:
"How to Save a Life" The Fray
"In the Light" dc Talk
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