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There Are Aliens Among Us
Who doesn't like Superman? To be able to fly faster than a speeding bullet? To be invincible? To save the day and be admired by all? Since his creation by Siegel and Shuster in 1933, Superman is still considered to be the most recognizable superhero of our generation. For many, he is an American cultural icon.
Superman resonates because he’s a mirror, in some ways. We can all project onto him the things we best like about ourselves and about humanity. He’s the guy we want to see in ourselves, the thing we secretly hope we are, even when we know we’re nowhere near that, or even capable of it.
Several years ago, Warner Bros. Pictures produced a reboot of the Superman film series by releasing Zack Synder’s Man of Steel . In the film, the Man of Tomorrow struggles to be accepted by others. He tries to “fit in” when he knows he’s “not of this world.” How will people react to him, knowing he’s different?
Think about that.
Have you ever struggled with trying to “fit in”? To be part of the “in crowd”?
It’s a dangerous tightrope to walk. We know passages that talk about evil companionships corrupt good morals (I Cor. 15.33), and not to be conformed to the world (Rom. 12.2). But in our daily lives we come into contact with so many people from different walks of life with different views and values. How do we balance the two? How do we deal with being in the world and yet not of this world? How do we do that in our classes at school? in the workplace? In our everyday interactions with our friends who aren’t New Testament Christians, who don’t believe about the Bible and the truth found in it or, for that matter, don’t even believe in God at all? Are we to be isolationists, separating ourselves completely and entirely from the world? From our friends? From our classmates? Our co-workers? Even our families?
It’s a fine line that we walk. And although we’re not “supermen”, we must realize we are “not of this world.” We are resident aliens, strangers in a world that is truly not our home.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Philippians 3.20-21
Not being a part of this world, means we take on a different set of values. We are to be set apart, holy as God is holy (I Peter 1.16). And that’s a struggle sometimes for most of us. Especially for those who are younger. In the critical years when they’re trying to find themselves, to be "their own man". We all like to be liked; to be accepted. But we need to be on guard that in our attempt to be liked, we in fact become lost.
“Those who follow the crowd usually get lost in it.” - Rick Warren
Don’t lose your focus. Don’t lose heart. We can overcome sin; we can overcome the temptations that come our way. We are in a sense “supermen”, but not because of who we are and what we do. No, it’s because of God and Christ who strengthens us (Philippians 4.13). We have a tremendous responsibility, because of the knowledge that we have and the strength that we have in Christ, to let our light shine, to be the right example. But we need to understand our uniqueness and the differences we have because of what we have in Christ. We who are born of God can overcome the world (I John 4.4; 5.4).
Although we are not able to leap tall buildings in a single bound nor are we faster than a speeding bullet, let others see us as truly different. Let them see Christ living in you.
Mild-mannered Clark Kent trying to fit in? No. I’m an alien; I’m different . . . and proud of it.
