Heroes

One of the most amazing things to me is that there are so many people in this world with so many God given talents and abilities and they either fail to even recognize their own abilities or to use the ones they have. I mean it would be a shame to allow someone to perish as you sit idly by and watch them.
I watched the news the other day and they showed a person in Austalia floating in the water, holding her little dog,on top of her house, as her house was being moved through an incredible and destructive force of nature. A helicopter floated over her and she made a desperate grab for the rope that dangled from beneath the chopper. She hung on, but lost the dog in the unbelievable raging torrent in which she found herself.
I watched helplessly in my living room at this horrific event. What if the pilot, though aware of what was happening beneath him, just watched and waited for the poor woman and her dog to disappear below the surface of the water. It was because he used his ability to maneuver a machine into a place where it could be used to save the life of this woman that she was somehow spared and saved to live another day. Her dog was lost, and that's sad, but her life was saved. (maybe the dog found his way to land as well, I don't know)
How much is this story like those who call themselves Christians yet watch as those who have no idea of eternity wash away into an eternity of destruction? God has given us all the ability to throw a rope to those who may be sinking beneath the waves, yet some would rather watch as the one in danger floats on by. As we explore our own lives we would do well to do what we can to discover and understand the spiritual gifts with which we are bestowed. And I'm certainly not speaking of the people who harrass you on street corners or come to your door and tell you that if you don't believe their way you'll burn forever in eternity. God will put in your path the ones who need saved. You don't really need to go a-hunting. Just a-looking. Be aware and use your talents and abilities with which God has blessed you to be a hero. Someone was a hero for you just as that pilot was a hero for that lady. If you are paying attention, you might be a hero for someone else and one day you will hear the Lord of Lords speak to you as He puts His arm around you, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." It takes courage to be a hero, and a bit of boldness. But if you truly believe, why would you ignore what your Master has told you? Now get on out there and save someone.