Have you ever been asked, “What’s your super power?” only to have the asker not wait for an answer but tell you theirs? If I’m ever asked that again, I’ll answer with another question: “Does getting out of bed in the morning count?”

I enjoy the superheroes. Growing up, I watched “The Adventures of Superman” on TV every week. He fought for truth, justice and the American way. Today, we have a plethora of superheroes — Iron Man, the Hulk, Spiderman, The Incredibles, Thor and Loki just to name a few. According to the movies and TV shows, the people of the world need superheroes and their super powers to defeat evil whenever and wherever it shows up.  

I can’t help but “connect the dots” from the superhero versus evil superpower storyline to God’s storyline in the Bible. The battle of good versus evil is the framework of the entire story. The main characters: God, the Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer of all life, and Satan (the devil), a fallen angel who wants to defeat God and be the ruler of everything and everyone. The battle between them is waged on earth, and individual human beings are the objective — we either choose to believe God and live as His children, or we choose to live as one of Satan’s minions. There is no “neutral zone” in this war.

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God’s heart is clear: He wants all people to be saved and to come to know the truth: that there is one God and one intermediary between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, who came to earth and lived as a human, and gave Himself as a ransom for all. (1 Timothy 4:5-6)

Satan’s heart is also clear: He prowls the earth seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8) and comes like a thief to steal, kill and destroy individuals so they will not know God and truth.

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The battle has never been one that can be won by human beings … or superheroes; it’s God’s alone (2 Chronicles 20:15). Satan has already been defeated. He lost the war when Jesus accepted all human sin onto Himself on the cross and died the death we all deserve. (John 3:16-21) After three days in the tomb, He came back to life and gave us the opportunity to know His Father as our Father and have assurance that we will live in His Presence forever. (1 John 3)

The superhero franchises spin an exciting story. The superheroes always defeat evil and save people, towns, sometimes the whole planet. But we, who know the most amazing super powerful living God hardly ever tell the real story … the true story. Or if we do, we only tell the part about God’s love, mercy and grace.

A too often unspoken part of the truth is everyone who ever lived on the planet, is currently living on the planet, or has yet to live on the planet is a “forever being” and will either live in God’s loving Presence or away from Him in torment and torture forever.

But if we only preach grace without mentioning sin and the need for repentance, we’re enabling people to march toward hell with complete peace. I don’t want to do that anymore. My prayer is that I will recognize the opportunities the Lord gives me to speak His truth and have the courage to start a conversation about the true and living superior God.

Victoria Van Couvering is the director of Women’s Ministry at Craig Christian Church. She can be reached at victoria_van_c@yahoo.com.