Who are your heroes?

When Chapman University presented its annual Albert Schweitzer award during the orientation for parents and new students this fall, I had to wonder how Chapman University felt so connected with Dr. Schweitzer. I found out. The leadership of the University has simply chosen to honor the life and witness of this extraordinary man in order to encourage its students to look to Dr. Schweitzer as a role model for a sincere Christian life.

I remembered comments from the home meetings and Ankeny Christian Church.

"We are called to be role models for one another and for the world," we said.

For Christian people, the real role model must always be Jesus. Yet, one of the realities of our world is that most people discover Jesus through seeing people around them who live for Him. Often it is not the Bible, or sermons from the pulpit, or lessons in the Sunday School class, which lead people to see Jesus' face to face. It is instead the parent, the friend, or the neighbor who puts into practice a true Discipleship of Jesus who becomes the memorable role model.

You and I may be the only Bible that is read by some of the people around us. We may be, for good or ill, the example of some people see as what it means to be a follower of Jesus. How we live our lives may be the factor that leads to our friends and neighbors to Christ.

It is not accident that many motivational writers suggest that if you want to succeed in a project of some kind, the first place to start is to find someone who has already succeeded with a similar project, and copy what they did. It removes a lot of trial and error, mistakes and false starts.

I think the Chapman University has a wonderful idea to encourage its students to look at to a person like Albert Schweitzer as a role model for how life should be lived. Can you think of a more powerful message to students?

Do you think Ankeny Christian Church would benefit from such a focus of pointing our members and friends to a worthy role model? I think so. Who should we pick, in addition to Jesus Christ? Perhaps we should pick one of the great saints of the past century. Perhaps we should seek to focus upon some of the Saints within the life of our own congregation.

Certainly, every one of us is called to live in such a way that that role model could be us. What things in our lives would you and I need to change in order to be worthy of such an honor?