Superman


"My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous" 1 John 2:1 (NRSV)

There is a familiar story about Muhammad Ali, the man who proclaimed himself to be the greatest boxer of all time, riding on an airplane. The pilot had notified the crew and passengers of some moderate turbulence on their path and had recommended everyone to take their seats and to buckle their seat belts. As the flight attendant came around to ensure that each passenger had indeed buckled up, she noticed that Muhammad Ali’s buckle was not fastened. She asked him to buckle his seatbelt, to which he replied, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt.” She responded, “Superman don’t need no plane.”

In my life, there have been many moments where I felt like I was superman. There have been moments where I felt as if there was nothing that could stop me, because I was on top. And I am sure that you have felt the same or can relate. We may, at times, feel like superman because everything we do is successful and we are able to overcome every hurdle we are faced with. But when sin bears fruit in our lives, we see how powerful we truly are. Through the temptations, which do present themselves, we see that we are not always powerful enough to overcome them let alone remove the sin from our lives on our own.

No matter how much we give, what good we do, what we buy, how successful we are, how much of the Bible we memorize, how many sermons we listen to, how many children we have and raise for God, how much we grieve over our sins, or how much we pray; we can do nothing to remove the sin in our lives apart from the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. We are not supermen, but we have a superman who could do all things and He is Jesus Christ.

As I read the passage in 1 John, I am reminded that although I sin I am able to find comfort knowing that Jesus is the atonement for my sins. This in no way justifies me to continue on in sin to have grace abound. Meaning, just because we are no longer under the law, but under grace, should we feel free to sin more. By no means, we are now made alive to live in freedom and truth as we do the will of our Saviour.

So when I have “Ali” moments, and pride takes over me, I am humbled to remember that I am in need of a Saviour. Likewise, when I have moments where I feel utterly defeated, I know that though I fall, I will rise again (Prov 24:16).

WOD:
Don’t give up
21-18-15-12-9-6-3
Clean and Jerk (135#)
Handstand Pushups

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