Heroes were human.

How many people do we elevate to the point where they transcend?

Or better yet, how many do we cancel upon fatal flaw?

The sad part is, too many of our heroes lose their true worth because they have either been immortalized or villainize. Is there no comfort, no contentment found in being the civilian in the story? I am no deity, I have no superpowers worth boasting in, I would rather look like God if he has placed his image in me. I am broken, I am worthless and of no value on my own, but how can this broken vessel bring any glory to the Father without understanding, empathy and redemption.

I just want to be human.

But don't we all just long for, desire to be better than human? So, we have this tiresome image of ourselves becoming these amazing superheroes, these all-powerful protagonists who cannot help but be awesome. But one failure arises, and we fall into the depths of despair. And when we see others go through this exhausting monotony, we either elevate them or cancel them.

Sometimes I wonder if either is better. The only conclusion I can come too is no.

A little background...

Picture this...after a long semester, a tired girl sits in the lobby area that is surrounded by classrooms. She, more prepared than ever for the final that will come a 'knocking in 3 days, decides she is going to relax this evening. But relaxing looks a little different for her. Honestly, it looks more like getting all the other things done that she wanted to. Long story short, she wants to write a blog post after being MIA for such a long time, but what to write about? Immediately after considering her dilemma, her choir professor messages her:

"Would you be up to chat about Dear Evan Hansen?"

Never minding the typo, I was simply excited that someone wants to talk about my all-time favorite musical. So, he calls me after listening to the musical and needing someone to discuss it with. We talk and the question arises: WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT EVAN HANSEN?

And I think this was more his query with it: how could a character, so fatally flawed in many ways, with seemingly no redemptive qualities (or even redemptive acts) be glorified and praised? Are people truly exulting him? Is he a figure worthy to "be found"?

I think this is part of the intrigue of the entire musical. Even after reading the novel, I didn't know whether I really liked Evan Hansen, actually he made many bad mistakes. But here's the thing: I wonder if the musical simply sheds light on the fact the good can still come of our wrong deeds. And as what he builds on a lie seems to crumble when this very foundation falls apart, we see justice for his wrongdoing. But what this whole lie truly does is demonstrate that true good could come about - and how much better it could be if we built it all on truth.

It's not just Evan Hansen.

The musical of Evan Hansen has so many significant plot points we might be able to draw from to demonstrate Evan's fatal flaws and the significance and meaning behind what they do within the story line and structure. However, I find it of greater importance to draw from figures within our own world to make the point: God uses completely flawed people to accomplish his great work.

Honestly, this fact has ultimately challenged the Machiavellian theme that the "ends justifies the means" and transforms it into "The means might bring good ends, because God has redeemed those means for his glory".

Consider - if we are to continue along this music track - some of the great hymnists throughout time. One might consider Horatio Spafford, the writer of "It is well with my soul". Many have considered this one of the greatest hymns of all time. It has brought great consolation and change in the Christian community and (dare I say it) the world. But perhaps you may not have known that Horatio Spafford began to fall into strange heretical teachings, perhaps sparked by the tragedy that struck his life (Cheaney, 2019). The words "Oh Lord, haste the day..." became prophetic in his life as he believed the Lord would come again soon and that he must prepare. He fell into an anxious state and though none can be aware of the state of his soul, one might say he was not following the teachings of the Bible well at the time of his death.

Consider again, those recent losses of major "Christian" figures that have made huge headlines by leaving the faith and consider their impact. Perhaps no one may know the spiritual destiny of Mark Driscoll, or Joshua Harris, or Marty Sampson, but we can reflect on the impact they have had, and perhaps even the detriment they have brought in leaving Christianity.

But it reminds me of this: some of our greatest heroes are human. Sometimes this means being labelled "the antichrist" or "false teacher" and sometimes it means being labelled "a wretched sinner in need of salvation". I suppose the latter reflects all of us, doesn't it?

Heroes were human.

Mom uses this phrase in her lessons all the time because they reflect this indubitable truth: we all stand condemned in light of God's holiness, meaning we all make mistakes. We have all erred and we should only ever see the log in our own eyes. As Ma would say "Leave your egos and self-righteousness at the door". Our pride and arrogance only ever help us become more blind and ignorant.

And my mom would be the first to admit her desire to see these heroes of the faith. She knows to stand with humility among them, for they had achieved many great things (with the Spirit's power, of course). But when she presumably sees all of them in Heaven, all perfected in Christ, they will likely all shake their heads in shame knowing all they got wrong on earth.

One of the most saddening and maddening things I remember from our trip to Germany in 2017 was seeing how the Nazis had used Martin Luther's antisemitism to promote their cause. Martin Luther was and is a well-established and respected figure in German history, who also had his own flaws, despite bringing the Reformation. Not only was his antisemitism misused (for Luther would never have wanted mass genocide), but it shed light on the fact that Luther was, in fact, an antisemite.

But let's stop both extremes at their worst. Let's stop making every human in history who achieved one noble act and praising them for who they were, because they were flawed too. And let's stop making villains out of those who make one mistake, allowing ourselves to be sucked into cancel culture.

Perhaps we need to have a healthy image of humans, one that notes that they are flawed like ourselves.

You are simply human.

This semester has been a learning curve because I have known that I am simply human. There is no excuse for sin, but there is a need to understand grace and mercy and praise the Lord all the more. Nothing I can do will ever atone for the greatest disappointment I am. And yet my Father has chosen me for his work on this earth.

In fact, he has chosen everyone he has made to accomplish his great purpose and bring him glory, even if they were never to have any real faith in him. We believe the glorification of God to be dependent on the praise on our lips and our own acts of faith. The truth is, God can bring himself glory in anything.

John Piper spent his time listing many of the texts in which God shows "zeal for his own glory". We might note how God has used people in history to bring about his glory, from his own people...

"...he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved." (Ephesians 1:4-6)

...to the unbelieving heart of Pharoah...

"For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” (Romans 9:17)

...to the chosen nation of Israel...

"Our fathers, when they were in Egypt, did not consider your wondrous works; they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love, but rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea. Yet he saved them for his name’s sake, that he might make known his mighty power." (Psalm 106:7-8)

...and even in Jesus, his only Son.

"When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you," (John 17:1)

The truth is, God chooses to glorify himself in everything. And I mean everything. Romans 9 shows that even in God's wrath, he brings himself glory.

"What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory" (Romans 9:22-23)

Sometimes I wonder if God's glory comes in the expression of who God is. When we truly worship God, we reflect who he is and present who he is before everyone. We proclaim his scriptures, and we glorify his name.

When the great heroes of the faith present scriptural truths that are biblically accurate and, yet their lives did not always meet the standard of the Word they preached, somehow God is still glorified, somehow God's name is still praised. Yes, they should have been more careful. Yes, some of them left the faith. Perhaps even we need to be careful who we elevate, for they were human. But my greatest lesson from any hero is this: that any means could achieve good ends, because God has allowed them to pass, and he has done so for his own glory.

And beyond all comprehension, every evil thing I have ever done God has never allowed to have the victory. His name is still praised.

And in great mystery, the actions of my life that are mere attempts and strivings to be good, God has used in his transcendent greatness. His glory is still evident.

And when everything is collapsing, when it is hardly "well with [their] soul", when they are nowhere to "be found" in the list in the Lambs Book of Life, God is still glorified. And I pray for each of your reading this blog post that you are not striving in vain. I pray you are not striving at all. In fact, I pray you recognize your own humanity and present it before the God of all grace who welcomes you to the foot of the cross.

He knows you are merely human. You do not need to be a hero; Jesus has filled that role.

Maybe he is enough?