Superheroes and super humans …

X-Men.

Transformers.

Captain America.

The Green Hornet.

Thor.

And as of yesterday, Green Lantern.

That’s a list of some of the superhero movies that have come to movie theaters just in 2011.

Millions of people flock to movie megaplexes, often donning 3D glasses, to see the stories of their favorite fantasy heroes.

We’re drawn to these stories because the characters can do so much more than we can. They can fly, disappear, lift entire buildings, or stretch like rubber. Bullets bounce off them and they can beat up any bad guy. They can hear beyond our capacity, see with x-ray vision, or run faster than a train. And they drive really cool cars!

But even these superheroes have something in common with us ordinary people: they all can die. They have limits.

The attraction to the stories of superheroes is the idea of being able to go beyond human limits. And we humans have plenty of limits!

Physically, our limits are found at the edge of our flesh. Contained by our skin is only so much energy, so much strength, so much agility. There’s a limit, and we feel those limits routinely.

Intellectually, there’s only so much we can learn and absorb, and never enough time to learn it all.

Emotionally, we’re bombarded with so many interactions and demands it’s easy for anyone to sometimes feel overwhelmed.

Socially, we all have regrets.

Spiritually, we’re all moral failures in need of a fix.

Not even our favorite superhero could do everything. Even the greatest Marvel character has their own kryptonite.

And we human beings have our limits.

That’s not a bad thing!

In fact, God intentionally made us to be creatures with limits. He did not design us to be all-powerful, all-seeing, all-knowing, physically invincible beings. We were crafted with a certain amount of capacity. God did not make us as mini gods! What we think of as “impossibilities” are often nothing more than the boundaries God has placed on the capacity He gave us.

Although none of us may currently be able to leap a building with a single bound, there are a few things we can do to enhance the capacity God has given us:

1. We can improve our lives by learning to live up to the potential we DO have. Before we bemoan our limits, we need to first live up to the ones we do have. We usually don’t. We complain about being physically tired, but most of us fall significantly short of caring for the bodies God equipped us with in a way that would maximize our strength, health, and vitality. We’re more consistent at doing things that contribute directly to the detriment of our physical fitness and overall health than we are in maximizing our physical ability. No wonder we tire easily, become exhausted, and struggle with our health!

Just as we often fall far short of what our physical capacity really is if we did what was necessary to develop to our physical potential, we also fail to develop intellectually, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Most of us are operating in this life far under the capacity God has provided us because of our own unwillingness to do what it takes to grow to our fullest potential. Our lives would improve dramatically if only we would do what it takes to grow all aspects of our lives so fully that they actually reached their limits!

2. We have the means of refreshing and recharging. As human beings, we have it so much better than cheap batteries that exhaust their power and can’t even be recharged. We have amazing bodies that can be refreshed, rested, fueled, and strengthened. We can do the same with our minds, our emotions, and even our relationships. And when we think we have stretched ourselves to our very last limit and can’t go any further, we have a super human resource to refresh us:

“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light,” Matthew 11:28-30.

3. We can share … “Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ,” Galatians 6:2. When you’ve taken your burdens as far as you can with the ability you have, you can extend that by tapping into the strength added to you by your brothers and sisters in Christ. Your burden is shifted so that it is shared. And when you have strength to share, you come alongside a brother or sister in Christ and help them carry some of their burdens. Life becomes lighter, and limits are stretched, by our sharing our capacity with each other through the love of Christ.

4. When we reach the end of our capacity and that’s not enough, THEN we do the impossible! Sometimes we come to a place where we actually stand at the edge of our limits. We’ve done what we’re humanly capable of doing, and it’s not enough. What then? We watch as God reshapes the boundaries of “possible” through the exercise of faith:

“… Jesus told them, ‘I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible,” Matthew 17:20b.

“For nothing is impossible with God,” Luke 1:37.

“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength,” Philippians 4:13.

When it becomes necessary or useful (according to God’s will) to exceed normal human boundaries, God can enable us to do so! In such times, our limits dissolve into His limitlessness and the impossible happens with ease.

A lot of us want to jump straight to number four. Forget developing our capacity to its fullest. Forget keeping ourselves refreshed and recharged. Forget sharing. Let God do it, He can do anything!

That’s not how God has designed things to work. Not doing what we’re capable of would unnecessarily keep us in constant distress. God made us better than that!

None of us may be superheroes in the classic sense, but we don’t need to be. We just need to grow to our fullest potential, care for ourselves properly, share, and exercise our faith. By doing so, we discover just how “super” life can be.

Scotty