The Superhero Inside You

By Lane Palmer, Christian Post Guest Columnist Monday, March 12, 2007

I'll just come right out and ask you point blank ... if you could have any superpower, what would it be?

I know this sounds like a kid's exercise, but you know you've thought about it, because science has proven that everybody has, I think. And talk about revealing; what is really going on in that head of yours! The superpower you choose will probably be an extension of your deepest fears or feelings of insecurity/inadequacy.

But then again mind reading is not my superpower, so what answers come to your mind?

For me? I went through a whole series of potential choices, starting with the less impressive to the "whoa, that would be so cool!" Sort of like the X-men world, where we have a guy who can actually fly a paper airplane at will to a girl who might shred the known universe because she's having a bad hair day.

Anyway, I started with something very simple. I think it was having the power of cheese, then thought through the usual choices like flying, time freezing, invisibility, flying through frozen time while invisible, but finally ended up with the best choice for me:

My superpower would be the superpower to get more superpowers.

Sort of like the wishing for more wishes in the Genie scenario, only this time it's allowed. That way I'd never run out of choices! Then the scenario would go like this:

Question: If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

Answer: Yes.

But of course, this conversation is sort of like Nacho Libre's habit of wearing stretchy pants in his room – it's for fun. In the real world we don't have superpowers ... or do we?

According to the Bible, you don't have a superpower, but you do have a supernatural ability. It's probably not what you think; you won't be able to see through walls or shoot webs from your palms, but you will be able to do things that are beyond your natural abilities that affect things beyond this natural world.

Sound interesting? It should, because it's one of the coolest parts of being a Christian. When you trusted Christ as your personal Savior, God sent His Holy Spirit to live inside you – and when He "moved in," He brought a unique ability that's custom designed to be used in great and powerful ways.

Here's the way the Bible describes what I'm talking about:

God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God Himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen. (I Peter 4:10-11)

Wow! That's a lot of amazing information in a short time, so let's take a closer look. First, notice that God has given each of you a spiritual gift – not just pastors and "super-spiritual" saints. Every single Christian on earth is sitting on a powder keg of spiritual power just waiting to blow apart the gates of hell! Also, Peter tells us that when we use our spiritual gifts/abilities, God's power flows through us to do amazing things. Peter wants you and every other Christian to discover that we all have a supernatural ability that can literally change the world for an eternity. When Spirit-filled Christians use their Spirit-given gifts to the glory of God, lives are changed, souls are saved, and the world is a better place because of your willingness.

Sort of beats shooting webs – ya think?

Speaking of Spidey, I have a quote by Peter Parker at the end of the first Spiderman movie that should be one of the first things you think about each day: "Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power comes great responsibility.'"

Your spiritual gifts represent great power, and you have a great responsibility to find out what they are and use them. The great part is that discovering and using your spiritual "superpower" is not that difficult. Start with reading what the Bible says about spiritual gifts and praying. Ask Him to give you a passion for your gift and to open doors that you can use it. Also, ask your Christian friends, family, pastor, youth leader, etc., what they think your spiritual gift is and how they see you using it.

So I'll come right out and ask you point blank again ... you definitely have a spiritual gift, so how are you going to use it?

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Lane Palmer is the Youth Ministries Specialist for Dare 2 Share Ministries in Arvada, Colo., where he works with to provide resources for youth leaders and students. Dare 2 Share exists to energize and equip teens to know, live, share and own their faith in Jesus. For more information on Dare 2 Share Ministries or the GameDay youth conference tour, please visit www.dare2share.org. Send feedback to lane@dare2share.org.