My Brother, The Hero?

Have you ever been a hero? Have you ever wondered, if given the chance, whether you could do something heroic?

Just yesterday, my brother John was having lunch with someone when the man began choking. John noticed the man in distress and asked him if he was choking. The man nodded his head. John got up, went to the man and did the Heimlich maneuver on him, and was able to dislodge the obstruction and save the man’s life.

Usually, when we think of someone as being a hero, we think of the stories of someone racing into a burning building to save a baby, at great risk to their own life. Or maybe it’s a soldier sacrificing himself by falling on a grenade to save the lives of those around him. But sometimes it only involves taking the risk that your lunch might get cold, or that someone might look at you strangely wondering, “What the heck is he doing to that guy?”

John took very little risk. Did something he already knew how to do. Was probably well able to get back to finishing his lunch before it got cold. But what made him the hero--at least in that man’s eyes, if no others--was that he did it. No one else in the restaurant moved to help. No one called for help. Not one person.

I’m a person that believes in “divine appointments”. I think that God Himself causes us to be in certain places at certain times to show us His great love for us and for others. Now John does have a free will and he didn’t have to be there. He could have missed the appointment. But, I have to believe that God knew that John was going to be there and that John would act on what he already knew how to do. He loved that man so much that He made sure there would be someone there to help. I expect God even tried to warn the man not to order the chicken! Maybe a nice bowl of soup, instead.

So as you go through your day, looking for a burning building to run into, or a live grenade lying around that you can fall on, don’t miss the obviously less sacrificial ways that you can be a hero. God will put someone in your path today just so you can be their hero. The trick is not to miss the chance and to understand that it doesn’t have to look heroic to be so, nonetheless.

The real hero, yesterday, was God--though I am mighty proud of my little brother.