Super Man

Disclaimer: The following views are not trying to speak for or interpret the intent of Superman’s original creators. They are just a strange guy’s attempt to wrap his head around something unfathomable.

Alright, with that out of the way, let’s talk about Superman. First, we’ll list some facts about him:

-- He’s so super that “superhero” doesn’t fully describe his domination. He should have a word all to himself.

-- He really doesn’t need anyone’s help.

-- He would dominate Chuck Norris (debatable, I know, but let’s be honest here…roundhouse kick vs. a flying man of steel? There’s no question)

-- He can pretty much do anything and help anyone in any situation as long as there is no kryptonite

I think you get the point. Superman rocks. Period. But why does Superman rock? Why is there something more special about him than the “more vulnerable” superheroes like Batman and The Flash and Captain America? It can be refreshing to have a superhero that’s more like us, but someone as ridiculously awesome as Superman lights up something inside of us that the other guys just can’t match. What makes someone as powerful as Superman so lovable?

Our original thought is to say, “We all love Superman because he is so powerful. After all, he can fly, repel bullets, shoot laser beams out of his eyes, fly back in time, etc, etc”. All of these things are true, but they stop short of the true reason we love him. If Superman used all of his power for destruction and forced us all to submit to him, we would hate him. If he flaunted his power around without harming anybody we still wouldn’t like him. So there’s more than his power alone that’s lovable. What is it?

Let’s describe a typical interaction between Superman and the people of Metropolis (we’ll pretend we’re Metropolites (Metropolans? I give up):

Superman has all this power.
We don’t.
We get in trouble.
Superman helps us.
We are out of trouble and happy.
We praise Superman.

Superman doesn’t need us. He doesn’t need to help us. He doesn’t even need to be on earth. In spite of these things, he still helps us poor Metropolites. Even though he has more power than we can imagine, he chooses to serve us. Instead of ruling over us, he puts our needs before his own.

To bring this further, take a look at the last line of that description. When Superman humbles himself for our sake, we don’t ridicule him. We praise him! He becomes the superest (if you’ve read any previous posts, you’ll realize that made-up words are encouraged) of all superheroes. In other words, we love Superman so much because in all his glory and splendor, he chooses to serve us.

Now comes the “ughh, here comes the Christianity stuff that I’m going to read just because I’ve read a few pages of text already and I’m obligated to finish” part.

Imagine a Superman that has no weakness with kryptonite. Imagine a Superman that can do all things at all places at all times with nothing holding Him back. If your head is not hurting, you haven’t imagined enough. Once your head starts hurting, then you’re beginning to imagine what an ounce of God is like.

So, like Superman (only better), God can do whatever He wants to anyone He wants wherever He wants whenever He wants with nobody’s help. Now imagine if this God came to earth as a man. This man is Jesus Christ. The real Super Man.

God didn’t come to earth for a vacation. He came for a reason. He came to deal with once and for all the rebellious, ungrateful, and self-centered human race. We have rejected Him since Adam and Eve, so how should He have dealt with us? Unfortunately, we deserved to be wiped out!

But we all know the Christmas story. Jesus didn’t come riding to earth unleashing His wrath on humanity. He came in a stable. As a baby. Later, He could have rocked us all with His incomprehensible power. Instead, He served the people around Him. He healed the sick, raised the dead, allowed the blind to see, fed the hungry, and made the deaf hear. Then He performed the Most Glorious Act in history: He died for us, then rose from the dead! This same Jesus that could do whatever He wanted instead put our needs above His own. He paved the road back to life with our Maker.

So let’s look at this in a similar way we looked at Superman:

God has all this power.
We spit in His face.
We get in deep trouble.
Jesus saves us.
We are free! We have life as it was meant to be!
what’s the last line?

Check out the following passage:

“[Jesus], being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.”

Phillipians 2:6-11

That first line is a little confusing. In other words: Jesus, with the power of God at His disposal, could have used that for His advantage. But He chose not to. Instead (like Superman), he served us. He humbled Himself for our sake. So what is the result of that? (Note: the bolded therefore is a hint)

Jesus becomes Great! Greater than all things! Superman became the best superhero because he served us in a mighty way. In the same manner, Jesus became deserving of all praise because He (in all of His power, glory, splendor, might, and strength) laid down His life for us.

So now you ask, “where do I fit into all of this?”

Well, where do Metropolites fit into the story of Superman? When they need help, they call on Superman’s name. When he helps, they praise him! They trust him.

In the same manner, Jesus did infinitely more for us than Superman ever could. So we should treasure Him! We should call on His name in times of need! We should live lives so that every breath we take honors Him! We should stop trusting the promises of our world and our culture and live the lives that God made us to live. He will provide!

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:17