I have a confession to make. I love
comic books. I love stories about
superheroes, about the struggle between good
and evil, about people striving to do
what’s right, to do justice. Whether
they’re in the format of a comic book, TV
show, movie, you name it, I’ve been a fan
since I was a kid. Apparently I’m
not the only one, either. This last
May saw the premiere of the newest superhero
movie based on a Marvel comic, “X-Men
Origins: Wolverine.” The movie had
all the action and special effects that
Americans want in a summer blockbuster,
certainly, and was a smash hit, like most
superhero movies today. What I liked
most about this movie when I saw it, though,
wasn’t the incredible fight scenes and
motorcycle chases (although those weren’t
bad, either), but the inner struggle that
Wolverine went through- trying to find a
place for himself, looking for peace,
acceptance, and justice.
Towards the beginning of the movie,
government agents find Wolverine living and
working in his new home in Canada and ask
him to accept a dangerous mission. He
refuses, because he no longer wants any part
of violence and killing, and simply wants to
live a quiet life in the wilderness.
The agents don’t accept this answer, and
trouble follows Wolverine as he tries to
follow his own mind, rather than what evil
people want him to do. Eventually he
finds himself desperately trying to find his
bearings, where to go and who he is.
No one in this movie tells Wolverine to
follow the right path, or asks what he wants
to do with his life and helps guide him that
direction. Instead, he is called upon-
forced- to move his life in a direction
involving violence, greed, and hatred.
He is not left to follow the path that
fulfills him, but a path that others
selfishly want to put before him.
This seeking and soul-searching reminded me
of a story in the book of Genesis about a
forefather of the church named Abraham.
Abraham was a wealthy man who lived a quiet
life with his wife, and both of them were
elderly. One day, he received a
message from God telling him to take all his
belongings and his wife and move to a land
that the Lord would give them (Gen 12:1).
He was not told how or why, or even where
they were going, only that it was the Lord
God who was calling him. He had every
reason to refuse the Lord’s invitation,
given the fact that he had settled, had
become wealthy, and was old, but he said no
such thing. He simply had a faith in
the Lord that that would lead him to this
new land called Canaan, trusting that
God’s purpose was for the good of Abraham,
his family, and the world. And indeed
it was. God made Abraham the “father
of many nations,” and in this nation, all
of Abraham’s descendents had a special
relationship with God, who watched over them
and their every path. When I read
Abraham’s response to God’s call in
chapter 22, I loved Abraham’s typical
willingness, as he simply replies with
“Here I am.”
What a beautiful response! What a
willing spirit Abraham truly had! How
many of us could respond this way?
When God calls us to something, we often
hesitate and then go, or even refuse.
Unlike Abraham, we don’t trust God enough
to simply give our whole lives to his
service, even though we in turn are rewarded
and fulfilled in this life and the next.
I myself have not just hesitated, but run
from what God was calling me to! Like
Wolverine, I refused someone’s invitation
to do something in my life, and was
disoriented and needed to find myself.
However, unlike Wolverine, the person who
invited me, and the person who calls each of
us, has no sinister agenda or anything else
in mind other than our well-being and the
good of the world. We don’t need to
hesitate like Wolverine did, otherwise we,
too, will surely lose ourselves and try to
find our path in life somewhere that is not
as good for us. We do not need to have
any hesitations. Like Abraham, we need
to say, “Here I am, Lord,” and God will
lead us. None of us know to what land
or for what purpose we’ll be called, but
we do know that the Lord will be with us to
guide us, because He loves us. Let us
say “yes” to the Lord, so that we too,
may find our new home with Him in our
hearts, and allow Him to have that same
special, loving relationship with us as He
has always wanted.
