[ 3 minutes to read ]

We have to grow up sometime.

Down by one. No time on the clock. I step to the line for two. I wipe my hands on my shorts. I toe the nail hole and look at the rim. I begin to dribble. This is for the championship. I could win it. I could tie it. Or, I could lose it. Are you nervous? No worries. I’ve been here hundreds of times in my yard, in the parking lot, alone in the gym. You should know I’ve also slain dragons, solved crimes, saved the world, won races, won the World Series, and the Super Bowl. Sometimes I made the touchdown pass for the win and sometimes I caught it.

I’d done all this before I graduated high school. How could one be so accomplished at such a young age? That’s easy. You only need a big imagination. Imaginative play is one of the great blessings of childhood. No matter your height or eyesight, you could always be the hero. Always. But why the hero? I certainly cannot remember all the stories I acted out as a child, but I can remember I was always the hero. I was always the one saving the day. Hundreds of times I was the one taking the game winning shot and either made or missed. Why was I the star of the team? Why wasn’t I the one who set the pick for the better shooter to get open? Why wasn’t I the water boy? Why was I the one who solved the crime and not the assistant taking notes without a clue what the mastermind was doing? Why was I the superhero and not the sidekick?

In the story in my head, I am always the protagonist, the main character, the hero. I’ve never been the sidekick, the helper, the background friend to the one with all the special abilities. The story in your head is no different. Even as adults, we put ourselves in the story in our head as the main character. The story in my head is all about me and the story in your head is all about you. It’s where we get all our grievances addressed and wrongs righted. It’s where we achieve greatness.

Where we went wrong

Two thousand years ago, twelve men met Jesus in person and spent over 2 years with him daily being taught and asking questions. Despite all that, they had problems with the story in their heads. During their last Passover with Jesus, they were still arguing amongst themselves which would be greatest in the kingdom (Luke 22:24). Each one was the hero of his own story. Of course the mother of James and John, like any doting parent, tried to resolve the conflict by making her sons both be the hero (Matthew 20:20-24). On that occasion, Jesus let them know they had got the story wrong.

The disciples mistakenly thought the kingdom was soon to come (Luke 19:11) and each wanted to secure his own high place in it. Jesus explained in the upper room that if they truly wanted to be great in the kingdom, they weren’t to be the hero, but rather the servant (Luke 22:26). Great is the servant of all, not the one who is served, but the one who serves. Jesus even demonstrated when he washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:15).

We shouldn’t be too hard on the disciples. Like them, we all go wrong when the story in our heads doesn’t align with God’s story. Understanding God’s story, the story line of Scripture, is critical to understanding our own lives and the minuscule parts we play. Jesus is the hero and no one is second hero. The kingdom will come when Jesus returns just as he promised, and when the kingdom comes, he will distribute rewards and positions according to his own will and purpose (Matthew 25:14-30). No one will be unhappy about it. Quit playing the hero and be a servant. The story in our heads should be glorifying Christ and serving him by serving others in humility. It’s time to put away our childish stories and have God’s story in our heads where Jesus is the only hero.