The World Does Need a Superman Savior
By Mykel Pickens |
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Last night I went with some kids from my youth group to watch Superman Returns. We didn’t have our mid-week service this week but I still wanted to get together and just hang out. So I sent out an email telling everyone to meet me at our local movie theater to watch the new Superman movie.
I’m not a huge Superman fan, but I am a huge comic book fan. I love comic books. I have been reading them since I was just a kid. I love the fantasy of heroes with super powers and people doing astounding acts.
 I had my reservations about this movie. Frankly it just didn’t look good but I’m a fan of the director, Bryan Singer. His films, The Usual Suspects, Apt Pupil, X-Men (and its sequel X2) are some of my favorite films. So I was a little hopeful going into this film.
I was expecting your average fare---superhero summer blockbuster movie but what I was not expecting was the spirituality of Superman.
Superman has always been a sort of Christ-figure and Bryan Singer portrayed that aspect splendidly.
In the film, Superman returns to Earth after a five-year absence. He left behind his adoptive mother and Lois Lane – the woman he loves, but cannot have. In his absence Lois writes a Pulitzer Prize winning story on how the world does not need Superman. Superman then meets up with Lois and they have this short exchange after Superman has taken Lois up in the sky above Metropolis:
Lois Lane: The world doesn't need a savior...
Superman: Listen...
Lois Lane: I don't hear anything.
Superman: I hear everything. You wrote that the world doesn't need a savior, but every day I hear people crying for one.
Now there are several other spiritual nuggets within the film but that moment really sticks out. Actually it hit me over the head like a 2x4.
The world does need a savior. We are powerless to save ourselves. In fact the Bible says in Romans 5:6 - You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
We are all ungodly. From birth we are proven to be selfish. Look at a toddler and see how they act. It’s all gimme, gimme, gimme from the start.
Without Christ we are destined to perish. But Jesus came at just the right time in history to save us.
Why?
Because of His great love for us.
Because of His grace and mercy.
Because the world needs a Savior.
There is a second part to Lois and Superman’s exchange and that’s when Superman tells Lois to listen. She says she doesn’t hear anything and Superman replies, “I hear everything.”
Too often that’s our problem.
We can’t hear.
But God can.
As Christians we are called to be ambassadors of Christ here on Earth. To do His will. But we get so wrapped up in ourselves, and the business of life, that we do not hear the world crying out for a Savior. We ignore the street person because we fear if we give him money they will misuse it on drugs or alcohol. Yet we go and waste money ourselves on other addictions.
We go to church and give lip service to God, singing songs and raising our hands, yet children go hungry while we overeat at lunch afterwards.
Amos 5:21-24 in the Message says it this way:
I can't stand your religious meetings.
I'm fed up with your conferences and conventions.
I want nothing to do with your religion projects,
your pretentious slogans and goals.
I'm sick of your fund-raising schemes,
your public relations and image making.
I've had all I can take of your noisy ego-music.
When was the last time you sang to me?
Do you know what I want?
I want justice—oceans of it.
I want fairness—rivers of it.
That's what I want. That's all I want.
God is tired of us not hearing. The world is in need of a Savior and God is calling us to go out and show them the Savior. To show justice to those that have been shown injustice. To be fair to those that have only known unfairness. To love the unlovely. To share Christ with the world.
Many Christians are doing just that. Walking out of their religious meetings and taking the church to the people. Taking Christ to us ungodly bunch who need a Savior.
I think of groups like XXXChuch.com who minister to those addicted to pornography and those working in the adult film industry. They take Jesus to the porn conventions and share Christ in a loving and non-judgmental way.
People like Soul Survivor who are active in their communities, running programs like The Noise and Soul in the City.
People who recognize that the world is full of ungodly people and are in need of a Savior. That God is not a God of hate but of love. Romans 5:8 says that God shows his love in a very unique way.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
So how can we as Christians ignore the plight of brothers and sisters when Christ sacrifices Heaven to become a man and die for us? We need to be proactive instead or reactive. We need to BE Christians in actions and not just in words alone.
On a certain level we can be that Superman. We can interven and love people, serve our fellow man. But we can never be the Savior the world truly needs, we can only point people to Jesus, who is the true savior of the world.
Yes Lois, the world does need a Savior.
The world needs Jesus.
Lets give the world what it needs.
Mykel Pickens is the youth pastor at Horizon Church in Victorville, CA. He is married to a wonderful woman who puts up with his love for all things UCLA, San Francisco Giants and Oakland Raiders. |
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Well, What can I say?! Im amazed... I went to watch this movie some months ago, and I reconized this things... but sometimes we feel like just us get things like that... but for me... the most amazing revelation on this movie is the scene that Jor-El says: "Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and your power are needed. Always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. They can be a great people, Kal-El, they wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all, their capacity for good, I have sent them you... my only son." Man... its pure revelation... its the voice of God about His Son... I believe that in my country, Brazil (Im not sure about whats happens in another countrys), we've lost time looking for what we can't and whats belong for the Devil... while we could be looking for Jesus... because He fill the Earth as the water the sea... He is in everything... everyplace... we just need to look for... I believe that as He said... what we are looking for... we'll find... depends of our hungry... Im hungry... but what I want eat?! I wanna feed myself with more of God or be worried about Diet food?! Lets look for God... because if we do... we'll find... in place that we never thought be possible... HE IS AMAZING... !! Peace American Brothers!! Lets be ONE (John 17;21)
That moment in the film had the same impact on me. It is good to see that Superman doesn’t defend himself by writing a thesis on why the world needs Superman. He knows that it does and just gets on with the job. I work in a High School as a Youth Worker and believe me there are many days when the cries for help are so loud they are deafening. However its hard to get churches involved in helping the lost and broken while they sit around and pray for opportunities for mission and not open their ears to the cries for help that are all around them.
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