Spider-Man Christianity

Photo courtesy of moviepilot.com

In a home with boys, you have to be up on all your superheroes.  This fund of knowledge was previously nonexistent for me, having been raised with a sister.

Please allow me to provide you with a quick crash course to save all of you boy moms some time and effort:

• Superman: Also known as Clark Kent, he is an alien from another planet, Krypton, who was sent to earth as his home planet was being destroyed.  He has superhuman powers such as strength, flying, blowing wind, etc.
• Batman: Also known as Bruce Wayne, he is a rich business man who was orphaned as a child and just has cool toys, cars, gadgets--he has NO intrinsic superhuman powers.
• Ironman: Also known as Tony Stark, he is also a rich and very eligible bachelor who needed a heart transplant, and now has a glowing reactor in his chest to keep him alive, around which he built an iron flying suit.  He is yet another man with cool toys.
• Spider-man:  Also known as Peter Parker, he is a teenage kid who was bit by a radioactive spider and now has spider-like superhuman abilities like strength, spider "sense," and spinning webs.

My favorite?  Spider-man, hands down (although Ironman is arguably the cutest!).  I just love his boy charm and all his teen angst.

But my real love for Spider-man has to do with a very important spiritual lesson he has to teach us all.  Let me explain.

You see, as mentioned above, Spider-man was bitten by a radioactive spider and now has intrinsic spider-like abilities that he can use at whim.  One bite.  Total transformation.

So, too, as Christians, we walk from dark to light at the time of our salvation, which happened at a particular moment in time (or perhaps a season in life such that we cannot quite recall a specific day).  But it, too, is a total transformation (2 Corin 5:17).

However, that is where the similarity ends.  Unfortunately, so many of us Christ followers do not realize this--we assume that as Christians, with the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are "good to go" and we can then manage our spiritual journeys ourselves.  We learn we ought to read our Bibles and go to church and then many of us simply coast, trying to do it all in our own strength.  

I call this idea "Spider-Man Christianity."  We get "bitten" once, and we go on to do great things for God on our own strength.

But not so, according to the Scriptures!  While our salvation (being declared righteous, i.e. justification) is a once-and-for-all event that is secure in Christ, our sanctification (process of being made more holy) is an ongoing process that requires our active participation (Romans 8:13) and a constant infilling of the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18).  This doesn't mean that we get more and more of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but it is more like we give him more and more rule and power and authority over our hearts as we confess our sin and turn to His power and strength in our day-to-day lives.  Often, this participation looks pretty passive, actually, as we submit to Christ's authority in our lives and fall upon His grace day by day.  But none-the-less, it is a daily practice, as we "abide" in the vine, realizing that apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5).

So let's not forget today, dear one, that our walk of faith is just that--a day-to-day, process of allowing the Holy Spirit to rule and direct our hearts and lives--and not just a one-time "bite" that makes us "good to go" for here after!