Surprise!

Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

~1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV

I smelled rubber as the sedan screeched to a halt.

With legs sprawled, and palms outstretched, my three-year-old son stood in front of the car with an expression of delight. How had he slipped his hand out of mine? I scooped up my son and daughter, and apologized to the driver.

Once inside the store, I asked, “Son, what were you thinking?”

“I’m Superman! I stop car!” He flexed his muscles to demonstrate his power.

“Mom, that was neat,” my daughter said.

“Not exactly,” I said, knowing we would discuss street safety later. I’ll shelve the Super Hero videos for now, I thought, but I knew that would be futile.

Childrens’ Superheroes

To my three-and-four-year-old children, superheroes were as real as Charlotte the spider who lived on the porch, and I was not permitted to sweep her web away in case she wanted to write a message. The Easter Bunny lived in the neighborhood—my children had seen him. Gilligan would teach them boating skills—as soon as he got off the island. Mr. Rogers would bring Lady Elaine and Daniel for a visit soon.

Superheroes empower children. With their imagination activated, they can envision the world as a safe place to grow, learn, and play. Once we become adults, we lose that safety-net of knowing there is a super-power greater than ourselves…or do we? With faith activated, we can know the One who is more majestic than any imaginary Superhero, and whose name is mightier than any name that is named.

Our Superhero

Are you looking for a Superhero? Look no farther than Jesus Christ. He is the One who carries our fears—so we don’t have to. Our Beloved activates dreams—those we gave up on ever achieving. He provides bread on our table when the mortgage is due and the dollars are few.

Our “superhero” is none other than our Bridegroom Jesus Christ. He is the One who has activated our ability to imagine the good life we can have in Him as we trust Him with our future. He is the best groom! We say, “My Beloved is white and ruddy, chief among ten thousand” (Song 5:10 NKJV), because He is pure yet reachable, fully God yet fully man, the superhero we live our lives for.

In 1 Timothy, Paul pens a picture of our Superhero, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15b). Paul had experienced Beloved’s transforming power. This is why two verses later he writes, “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV).

Give Thanks

How can we, as Paul, thank our Superhero Jesus Christ? God has placed within you and I the indelible gift of imagination. As you pray, envision with child-like faith just how majestic your real-life Superhero truly is, and then tell Him so.

Share a character trait about your Superhero, the Beloved, Jesus Christ.

My Beloved Jesus, help me to envision You as my real-life Superhero. Thank You for being the One I love more than all others.

Your Bride,

Genre: Devotion

Copyright 2019; Revised 2023: My Superhero: Diane Virginia Cunio: All Rights Reserved

Award-Winning Devotion: Fourth Place: Advance the Kingdom Devotion Contest: Christian Writer’s Conference, 2019 version.