I Found God In Smallville...

In a rural town of Smallville, Kansas, a baby boy is brought to Earth, seemingly from the Heavens, in a meteor shower. His adoptive parents accept him, love him, guide him - but know that he possesses abilities that are far above "normal." As he grows up, the boy and his family come to understand that his birth Father sent him to earth to serve, protect, and ultimately save mankind from injustice and evil.

Sound familiar?

In this case, it is Clark Kent who carries the burden and responsibility of his abilities and his purpose. He knows, without a doubt, WHO sent him here and WHY he was sent.


Can you imagine that? Waking up every day knowing, without a doubt, the reason for your existence?


Jesus knew.

From the very beginning, Jesus knew his purpose. His earthly parents knew it too.


It's one thing to have hopes and dreams for your child... you might wonder "will my kid be a doctor? a lawyer? a teacher?" It's quite another for The LORD to tell you exactly your child's place in this world:


Luke 1:30-33 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."


WOW... talk about potential!



Jesus also knew his role in the world. While the early years of his life aren't documented minute by minute, there is a story in Luke from when he was 12 years old and was separated from his parents for about 4 days. Upon finding him, finally, his parents were understandably upset:


When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 1:48-51)

Jesus knew His purpose even at the age of 12 - accepted it... acted upon it. And He also understood his obligations and responsibilities to his earthly family. The verse includes the part where he "went home with them and was obedient to them." He didn't pull out the "I'm the Son of God" card - He honored his earthly parents as well as His Father. He was obedient to them both. Furthermore, throughout his life, He served His purpose; He did not run from it.

Similarly, Clark Kent strives to be obedient to his earthly family and his Kryptonian father, Cal-El. He knows he is different - He knows he possesses unearthly skills - He knows his duty.

I love the hidden (and sometimes not-so-hidden) parallels of Christ to pop culture icons. I remember in high school, when we would study poetry, we might read a poem about a DUCK and the teacher would extrapolate all of these inner meanings: man's struggle vs. man... man vs. nature... man vs. addictions... etc. I often figured that the authors were looking down on us and just laughing... because their poem really was just some verses about a duck swimming in a pond. :)

However, I believe that God has created us with the urge to share His stories - and we do it in all sorts of ways and through all sorts of venues. Movies, TV, comic books, novels... these are all places that contain amazing stories in which you can find many links to God... even if that wasn't the original "purpose" of the author.

I don't know the history to the Superman saga - whether or not the authors specifically and deliberately made these Christ-like references. The important part is that the references are there all the same. There is a neat website called Hollywood Jesus - an archive packed with tons of pop culture stories and movies and how they incorporate the stories of God and Jesus.... Superman included.

Clark Kent and Jesus Christ knew, without a doubt, their purposes in life. They knew "the last page" of their respective stories... the duty that called them to action. We don't have the luxury of flipping foward to the last page of our lives to see what should have been accomplished. Our lives aren't scripted that way. With God's blessing of FREE WILL, we get to write our own stories... line by line, chapter by chapter. We get to find and execute our own purposes.

Have you found yours?

Have you deliberately incorporated your faith, your service, your time, your sacrifice into a purpose worthy of your Creator? And if not, isn't it about time you started thinking about it?

Happy Living,
:) Mags