For months now, I have been studying the lives of heroes. Not sport heroes or war heroes, but men, women and in some cases, children whose lives have made a significant and positive impact on the world around them. And it’s interesting, because there seems to be a groundswell of interest in such people. Last month, CNN presented “Heroes: An All-Star Tribute”. I think this is in response to a deep societal longing for a significance that goes beyond the traditional markers of success: career advancement and the acquisition of material comforts. In the global village that modern media penetration and the internet have created, it is becoming increasingly difficult to be satisfied while confronted with the spiritual and physical poverty and sickness that grip so much of the world. The question, “Who is my neighbor?” calls us to a more radical response than every before.

Which brings us back to the issue of heroes. What marks their lives? Passion that finds its focus in recognizing a purpose greater than themselves. A refusal to accept the status quo; instead moving toward a vision of how things should and could be. Commitment. Perseverance. Notice what is not common to true heroes: power, charisma, wealth.

When the Apostle Paul encountered Jesus Christ, he found both identity as one embraced as a son of the living God and a great sense of purpose.

Paul lived with a great sense of being on assignment, of fulfilling what the Father had set before him. Likewise, Jesus said, “I must be about My Father’s business.” (Lu 2:49) God’s assignment focuses us, strengthens us, and perhaps more than anything else, brings the deep joy of knowing His pleasure.

I have come to believe that there is a hero inside every one of us; I mean that there is passion and purpose waiting to be released as we step into Eph 2:10. One of the great joys of my life is to observe team members on Journeys of Compassion discovering more of who they really are in the midst of impacting ministry. Often they have to choose to push aside their fears and see themselves differently than ever before. And the result? Heroics—touching, changing, sometimes even rescuing lives—quietly, almost invisibly. But not invisible in heaven, where those who have gone before us cheer us on, and the Father waits to say, “Well done”.

Something else marks the heroic life: perseverance. It takes endurance and sometimes courage to keep going, to keep pressing on in God’s assignment. The writer to the Hebrews put it this way:

So let’s keep encouraging one another to press on to all that the Father has set before us. 2007 was a wonderful year filled where the Lord opened doors for us to minister to the desperately poor and sick with medicine, clean water, small business opportunities, supernatural healing and miracles and salvation. But our eyes are fixed on the “good works which God has prepared in advance for us to do” in this year. We are experiencing the joy of being in the middle of the assignment. And by the gracious empowering of His Spirit, we will go follow Him higher and further this year.