Heroes And Princesses | Heart Of A Hero

He wasn't the strongest, he sure wasn't the biggest. He had asthma. He couldn't run fast. He was picked on. He couldn't fight well. He didn't fit in. He wasn't most peoples first pick. Heck, he wasn't most peoples third. There wasn't anything special about him. Steve Rogers was just a kid from Brooklyn- one that couldn't make it into the army.

But he was a guy who wanted to do the right thing. He was a guy that hated bullies and not one to sit on the sidelines and let others take care of the problem. A guy who couldn't stand to be neutral. Even if that meant getting beaten up.

I love the part in the movie when he is going through basic training, agent Carter is making everyone do jumping jacks and the officer takes a fake grenade and throws it into the group. Everyone runs for cover, except the scrawny kid from Brooklyn. He runs toward it- while the rest of the guys that were passing tests -everyone's 'first picks'- ran for the hills. He jumped on top of it. He was willing to die for everyone else- the same one's that hated him, picked on him and laughed at him without a second thought.

Remember the part where he asks the doctor why he picked him?

"A Strong man who has known power all his life may lose respect for that power, but a weak man knows the value of strength and knows compassion."

Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause. Isaiah 1:17

He had the heart of a hero. At the end of the day, he didn't need to be strong, or big, because he had the heart. He had the courage. He was willing to lay down his life for those same people who mocked him, without a second thought.

Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Psalms 82:3

"Stay who you are. Not a perfect soldier, but a good man."

Its so easy to wait for someone else to lead. To see a problem and let someone else more qualified to handle it. But maybe we have enough big guys, maybe we need a little guy. Maybe we've had enough neutral...

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:13-17

Whenever he goes to 'war' it's in uniform, for us that would be the armor of God. Though our armor is invisible (and we don't to get to walk around with a cool shield), and we don't usually 'see' our battles they are just as real.

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

I know some Christians that have some pretty cool moves- it's called hitting their knees. Wouldn't it be nice if we could just deal with it like Captain America and his friends? Cool shield, guns, sweet moves and a great brain for one- liners

But I think the way we fight is harder. At some point their battles end, ours don't they continue from the day we step in until the day we step out. I think we lose sight of what we are supposed to be fighting. We forget how strong we are when we hit our knees and let Him fight the battle. We feel like we pray the same thing over and over, without any results so we give up. Maybe it is time, that we find our 'heart of a hero' again and hit our knees. Because on our knees, we are stronger than even 'Cap'.

"He who kneels before God can stand before anyone."




Excerpts are taken from the movie 'Captain America: The First Avenger' , All rights reserved.