Heroes Among Us

   True bravery is shown by performing without witness what one might be capable of doing before all the world.
LaRochefocauld

   We are quick to celebrate those who have publicly saved others at the risk of their own lives, and rightfully so. There are, however, heroes among us who are risking their safety every day, but who receive little recognition for doing so. Take for example the men and women who serve in the field of law enforcement. Their motto is to protect and serve, and that is precisely what they do. While we occasionally honor those whose acts of heroism have become public, we rarely acknowledge the courage they display each time they knock on a door or approach a stopped vehicle in the everyday performance of their duty.

   We have firemen who literally may have to risk their lives with every call. While we do honor those who rescue a child from a burning building, how often do we pause to consider the same courage that is present each time they answer a call? They rarely know in advance just what is at the other end of the alarm, but they respond to each one with a determined willingness to lay their lives on the line should the situation demand it.

   Then there are our military men and women who serve 24 hours a day under the most extreme and hostile of circumstances. They do not expect to die on any given day, but they know that death is always  a very real possibility. They serve and they come home, often to people who do appreciate their effort, but rarely to those who truly understand the actual depth of the courage needed to be a soldier in hostile regions.

   And then... we have our Lord. Though He knew for a fact of the torture and type of death that awaited Him, Jesus prayed in private that God's will be done, rather than His own. While the Christian world looks with adoration upon the courage of Christ as He was publicly ridiculed, publicly beaten, publicly spat upon, and then publicly crucified, how often do we consider His incredible heroism that night that He prayed alone?

   We do have heroes among us  and we ought to thank them at every opportunity. But the greatest Hero who ever was and who ever will be, walks among us yet today. And, He deserves our humble thanksgiving with every breath we take.

   Going a little farther, He fell on His face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.
Matthew 26:39, NIV