Why the World Needs Superman

Most of us know the story. The world’s greatest savior seemingly deserts Planet Earth, leaving behind the upstart reporter Lois Lane, who goes on to win journalism’s highest honor, the Pulitzer Prize, for her work entitled “Why the World doesn’t need Superman”. In our overwhelmingly independent society which loathes the mention of a supernatural power, many of us might find ourselves sympathizing with Lane’s feelings of self-sufficiency. Our culture steeps us in the idea that we must depend almost entirely on ourselves, making a supernatural power obsolete in our lives. I fall prey to that assumption all too often myself. As I prepare for our trans-Atlantic trek, however, I’ve come to realize that what I am about to experience, along with 18 other Christians, is different than anything we have ever seen or heard. We are about to step into the midst of people who long for the supernatural to occur, for a true Superman to descend and save them from the havoc that this world has wreaked in their lives.

Just these last 3 weeks, I’ve been hit with the overwhelming reality of my own inability to face what God plans to do on this trip, both in the lives of the Swazi people, and in my own life. As I’ve started packing, journaling my thoughts and feelings, and trying to prepare myself psychologically, I have to simply throw up my hands and say, “okay, God, you take care of it, cause I can’t.” And it’s true. I can’t. All I can hope to do is to wait for God’s timing, for His plan to move. As our team’s preparations come to a close in these next two weeks, I pray, and I hope you all will join me, that each and every one of us will be humbled in the presence of God’s awesome power. We can’t full understand what the Swazi people have gone through, nor can we comprehend what God’s plan is for us in going on this trip. But with Jesus’ help, we CAN bring His message with us around the world.

So why does the world need Superman? The answers that come to my mind are perhaps obvious: To solve AIDS; to find a cure for cancer; to fix world hunger. But the biggest lesson that my preparation for this trip has taught me is that our Superman intends for us to, first and foremost, show His love for Creation. Now it is my job, along with 18 other Christians, from Colorado Springs, CO, to take it with us to Swaziland.

~ Afton Paris