You know the story so well: A father makes the ultimate sacrifice and sends his only son to earth to save the race. He enters the world as a tiny baby in a barn, and is raised by two commoners in an obscure village. Because of his supernatural power and his stand for truth and justice, he is misunderstood and meets with violent opposition. Eventually at the age of 33 he saves all of mankind and the forces of evil are rendered powerless. He continues to live as our savior. Like I said, you know the story...and this story is, of course, the story of...Superman, from the current Hollywood blockbuster Man of Steel.
Seriously?! How's that possible? Could all these parallels with the story of Jesus just be coincidental? Well maybe -- but here is a different take on it. Not only the story of Superman, but every great story we love contains the basic elements of THE STORY; the story of God's love for us: a humble hero has some kind of special power with which he battles evil to save those who are innocent. Unwittingly, Hollywood is simply expressing truth that God has placed in each person's heart. We have an innate knowledge of God within us (Rom.1:19); an instinctive sense of right and wrong (Rom.2:14-16) and a longing for more than this world (Eccl.3:11). We all live with an awareness that things aren't right in our world (Rom.8:23). A film like Man of Steel is humankind's effort to come to grips with this; to express it as best they can. That's not a bad thing. It's great, because it opens doors for us to share the good news. So go watch Man of Steel with your friends, take them out for coffee and share with them who the REAL Super-Man is!
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