Are You Batman?

Of all the superheros, Batman is my favorite! He's 6'2", good looking, and had to develop his skill instead being born or made into a freak - this is where our similarities end. Unlike me, Bruce Wayne is rich, cultured, and always gets the girl.

We all share similarities with our favorite superheros. The desire to see wrongs righted, defend the defenseless, and so on. The aspect that we probably have most in common is the fact that we all have secret lives. Bruce Wayne is a playboy billionaire during the day and a crime fighter at night. This secret life is only known by a few - which is why it is a secret. Now the question stands, which is your secret life?

I love bbq, Scotland, and philosophy - these are not secrets. I love Terra (my wife), Cora (my daughter), and Biscotti (my dog) - these are not secrets. Rugby, coffee, on-and-on the list could go of the various things that I fill my life with that everyone knows about. So what is my secret life? In high school I didn't act too smart because none of my friends wanted to go to college. At the end of college and afterwards I worked in an office and was moving up the career ladder so no one knew I was thinking about the ministry. Before Terra, I would only confess to like the things that the girl I was interested in liked because I wanted her to like me - only that wasn't me.

The secret lives that we live are not always lies, they can just be a part of ourselves that we don't want the world to know about. If the world knew they would the laugh at us or, worst, walk away?

College students live multiple lives as student, child, employee, friend, etc. For a lot of students the faith they brought to college is not their own but something that was handed to them by their family like a poster to hang on their wall. Students move in with Bible in hand until the family leaves and then they put it down - only to take it up when they go home or mom comes for a visit. For students who have a personal faith they may not do much more because of the pressures or the stereo-types that others believe.

Jesus never was secret about his intentions, his mission, or with his friendships. The world was more hostel to Jesus than it will be with us so why do we think we need to have a different approach? If Jesus and later his followers were willing to be direct with their faith, intent on impacting culture, then why do we feel we need to be secret Christians?

Matthew 10:32-33 “Whoever, then, acknowledges me before people, I will acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever denies me before people, I will deny him also before my Father in heaven." (NET Bible)