There Are Still Teenage Heroes

I remember the pressure in my teen years, probably the hardest years of my life.   I knew I was no hero.  Unpopular, pimpled and never asked out on a date.   I was prude by default it seemed like and I made plenty of bad choices that if I could change, I would.  However, life does not work that way.  You grow up fast and you don’t get a do-over.  Your teen years are precious even if it does not feel like it.   Being a teen does not exclude you from being a hero or from having an impact in the world around you.

When I think of heroes in the Bible, a girl named Mary comes to mind first for me.  I wonder … did she feel like she was a hero while it was happening?  When this young girl said she was willing to bear Jesus, she knew what it meant, but did she feel like she was a hero?  She was to be married, her husband-to-be would think she was unfaithful and her parents and friends would think she had sex before marriage.  Check out Luke 1:26-38.  She was brave and did the right thing regardless of what others would say.  God is searching for young hearts to turn towards Him and trust Him.  As I would learn, you do not have to be perfect to be a hero, you do not need to be like anyone else to be a hero, you only need faith and friendship with the Creator, He will do the rest.

I believe there are teenage heroes today.  They are the ones that say no to sex before marriage.  They are the ones who are laughed at for carrying the Bible with them.  They are the ones called prude because they want to do the right thing in any given situation.  They are the ones who resist temptation and the traps that are so easy to step in.  They are the ones who stand under the pressure with courage and faith in their heart.  They are the ones who would rather please God than please others.  They are the ones who would do exactly like Rachel Scott did when a fellow student held a weapon before her face and asked, “Do you believe in God?”  Her answer took courage!  “Yes, I believe in God.”  That is a hero to me and proof there are teens who are powerhouses in the Kingdom of God.