If my heroes are not heroes, where does this leave me? I turn to Scripture, but the problem gets worse because God is no hagiographer. He reveals both the triumphs and the failures of His people. Somehow in His list of heroes of in Hebrews, He includes shocking names including Samson and Jephthah!

Disappointment. Once again, a Christian leader has fallen off the pedestal. Of course, I should never have placed them on it. But in my mind, they are not what they once were. Maybe they never were.

I need good examples–role models who live out what it means to walk by faith and reflect God’s glory. My heart cries out for inspiration to live for God day by day. Can I really do what God made me and saved me to do? How have others done this before me?

Present Heroes

I’ve admired God’s servants from afar. At times, God has given me the privilege of working alongside some of them. I have found that none of them are perfect. And they have discovered that neither am I.

Some that I have expected to do right have done wrong. Other godly men have locked horns with each other when they should have worked together in unity. I feel disillusioned. If they have crumbled under pressure, what hope do the rest of us have?

Past Heroes

Perhaps I will find it safer to retreat to the safety of the past. I love reading missionary biographies. I write about them in my missions devotionals. If my heroes are dead, they cannot surprise me with a sudden failure.

Yet, the problem once again resurfaces. In an honest biography, the author avoids the trap of hagiography.1 As I read, I discover that even the most faithful servants of God have moments (or more) of faltering or straying from God’s path. Some hold doctrinal positions different from mine.

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