In the town of Metropolis, Illinois, a statue stands in front of the local municipal building that celebrate the connection of the town’s name with that famous superhero from DC Comics – Superman. In fact, the entire town is one big play on that connection. The local newspaper, The Planet, even has a logo that is a lot like the logo of The Daily Planet, the newspaper that Superman’s alter ego, Clark Kent, worked for during his journey on Earth. Next month, the entire community will be deeply involved with the annual Superman Festival. No one thinks it strange when old and young, male or female, walks around that town dressed in a costume or a tee shirt of their favorite superhero.
As I was preparing to do today’s entry, I began to search through my library of digital photos to find an image for what I had planned to connect to today’s lesson. Instead, what happened was that as I was looking in the folder, the image of Superman who “fights for truth, justice, and the American way…” really stuck in my mind. There’s a spiritual lesson to be learned from the concept of Superman; its not in his mighty strength, his alien origins, or even in his alter ego and romantic interests, but within the concept of what Superman has come to represent to generations of Americans since this comic book character’s introduction many years ago. Besides the outlandish costume complete with cape, there are other things that Superman did possess: integrity, honesty, compassion, and a never ending pursuit of justice and righteousness. Superman, who generations were introduced through radio and television serials, comic books, cartoons, and even a few movies, defended the concepts of justice, righteousness, and freedom.
Anyone who knows anything about Superman knows that kryptonite was that mysterious rock that caused Superman to lose his powers. While he was nowhere near the stuff, he was faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, and could leap tall buildings in a single bound… (I could not resist the old television show tag!). But just as soon as someone brought in a small chunk of kryptonite, his powers were gone and he was only as strong as a normal man. What an accurate description of what happens in the life and testimony of a Christian when sin enters into the picture. The apostle Paul wrote on this very topic as a warning to the early church at Corinth about the dangers of even just the minutest sin within the life of the believer, Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump? Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth (I Corinthians 5:6-8).
For Christians, even just a little sin in our lives can destroy our testimony and render us ineffective for the Lord. As a child of God, we cannot be possessed by Satan nor can we be condemned to hell but we can have our ability to serve God while in this life diminished. To have a life that honors God, that allows us to selflessly serve Him, and to enjoy the fullness of our salvation, we must examine ourselves daily. Even the Old Testament prophets brought God’s warning to his people, Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Consider your ways (Haggai 1:6-7). All of these things listed were areas where it was hard to become content, to be comfortable with what they had. Of course, the minor prophet, Haggai, later explains that their inattention to the things of God had led to God withholding his blessings from them. When we choose to remain tied fastly to our sins, we choose to remove ourselves from a place of heavenly blessings!
