Heroes in My Library

My library is a special place to me, in part, because it is a place where many of my heroes await meeting with me.  You remember heroes, don’t you?  Those men and women who bravely fought for great causes, sacrificed for lofty ideals, and otherwise broke the bonds of compromising commonality to achieve noble aims.  In addition to my faith in Jesus Christ and my dependence on the Holy Spirit, in addition to my zeal to study the Bible and carefully learn its revelations and precepts, I’ve joyously accepted the gifts God has given me in mortal heroes. And I've cherished the inspiration they have brought me throughout my life -- heroes whose exemplary character and deeds of physical and moral valor compel me to dream bigger, reach further, and relish more the adventures of life.

My library resounds with the presence of these heroes and, even after decades of friendship, I still appreciate my every encounter with them. They include the apostles, Luke the physician, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Christopher Columbus, Ronald Reagan, Francis & Edith Schaeffer, Ulysses S. Grant, St. Patrick, Clarence Thomas, G.K. Chesterton, Old Testament heroes like Joseph and Kings Hezekiah and Josiah, Thor Heyerdahl, Edith Cavell, C.S. Lewis, Audie Murphy, Joni Eareckson-Tada, Malcolm Muggeridge, Paul Tournier, Florence Nightingale, Samuel Eliot Morison, William Wilberforce. The list goes on.

Even the fictional heroes in my library are trusted friends: Sherlock Holmes, Sydney Carton, the Count of Monte Cristo, Robin Hood, Fr. Brown, Richard Hannay, Robinson Crusoe, Badger and Ratty, D’Artagnan and the Musketeers, Mr. Pickwick, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Fr. Tim Kavanagh, Elwin Ransom, Ivanhoe, Horatio Hornblower, Frodo and Sam, the converted Ebeneezer Scrooge, Sir Wilfred of Ivanhoe, and so many others. The Lord uses even these “invented heroes” to yet provide real-life inspiration and direction.

Heroes have shaped my life in ways too numerous and deep to ever fully realize. They have daringly challenged me to venture outside my comfort zones and narrow self-interests and instead embrace the adventurous opportunities life provides for character, integrity, courage, and religious faith.

Where would I be without heroes? I don’t want to even imagine.