“What do you want for Christmas?” I asked the young boy.
“I probably won’t get gifts this year, but I want a superhero, a Power Ranger with the white outfit,” he said with longing in his eyes.
When I dropped him off at his trailer after church, I realized that he lived in a much different side of town than the rest of the children in our ministry and his socioeconomic status was very low. There was a good chance that his wish would not come true.
I was in my first year of ministry serving in Denmark near Norway and Sweden. I was in the country, but not another country. Denmark, S.C., was home to my first church, Ghent’s Branch Baptist, where I served as part-time student pastor. We were a small church with a big heart for those around us.
My heart broke for this little guy, so I took my paycheck and went on a mission to bring him a superhero. Of course, you would know that the white-dressed Power Ranger would be the one toy that everyone wanted that year for some reason. Amazon had not been created yet, and there was not online shopping available. So, I drove from store to store to try and find one, with no luck.
This Christmas we will celebrate the advent of the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the Superhero of superheroes. He may be hard to find in the hustle and bustle of the season, but He is not far away. All other religions worship gods who are distant and unable to be known. We celebrate Jesus, who has made Himself known to us even when we did not deserve His attention.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
I was relentless in my search. After hours of driving and searching, I found him perched on a Walmart shelf in another town. I carefully wrapped the superhero and drove across town. I propped the gift against his doorstep and envisioned him unwrapping his superhero that Christmas morning.
How far are you willing to go to take the gospel this Christmas season? May we be a people who drive across town and around the world to share about a hero who transforms lives.