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How to Share Your Faith Using Heroes

The edgy television drama Heroes follows a group of individuals who carry an unusual genetic marker giving them unique, superhuman abilities. The show's early tagline put it this way: "Ordinary people discovering extraordinary abilities." These superhuman capabilities include things like reading people's thoughts, becoming invisible, time traveling, knowing the future, exhibiting incredible strength, and being indestructible. If you haven't seen an episode of this new series, by now you might be thinking X-Men-meets-Superman-meets-Back to the Future ...but no, Heroes has a totally different take.

As the season continues to unfold, these extraordinary individuals are discovering the existence of others like them, who also carry this unique genetic marker - some who are attempting to use their gifts for good and some who use them for evil. And there are bad guys racing to find and harvest the DNA from these specially gifted people for their own evil purposes, while the good guys are discovering they need to combine their unusual abilities and join together on a mission to save the world from impending disaster.

A recent episode of Heroes began to explain a cryptic symbol which has been recurring throughout the series. The symbol, which appears to be a key for understanding more about the heroes special powers, is derived from the combination of two Japanese characters, 才 (sai) meaning 'great talent' and 与 (yo) meaning 'Godsend'. Interestingly, the 'Godsend' symbol opens the door for spiritual converstations about these unusal talents.

So as you find opportunities to talk with friends about the TV drama Heroes, try turning the conversation in a spiritual direction. Here are some ideas to help you bring God up in the conversation:

  • Heroes introduces the whole realm of the unseen world. Ask your friends if they believe there is a reality beyond what we see with our physical eyes. Describe what you believe about God. For help with this, check out the GOSPEL Journey.
  • Some of the characters in the series have the ability to 'hear' other people's thoughts. Would you like to have that ability or do you think it would create a lot of relational problems? Would you be tempted to use that special power for your own self-interest or do you think you would be motivated to use it for the good of others? Ask your friends if they realize that God 'hears' all their thoughts. For help explaining this, read Hebrews 4:13.
  • Ask your friends if they think they have any gifts or abilities that are 'Godsent' - obviously nothing like what the heroes display, but things like musical, atheletic, scholastic, artistic or dramatic abilities can be examples of special, unique, God-given abilities. Share from your life and experience. Look for a natural opportunity to explain what you believe about Jesus being the ultimate example of a 'Godsent' gift, as in 'sent by God the Father' to make a way for us to receive the free gift of salvation.
  • The heroes are coming to the realization that together they have a mission to 'save the world'. Find out if your friends feel like they have a mission in life. Share what you believe about why God put you on earth and brought you into a relationship with Him through Jesus. Check out 2 Corinthians 5:18.

Our God is the Incredible, Amazing, Ultimate Superhero of all time! Are you willing to share that truth with your friends? After all, He's called you to the mission of sharing His Good News with those around you.