Origin Story

Batman is one of my favorite comic book heroes. He may not be a superhero (after all, he has no superpowers), but he is arguably the best crime fighter out there! And he’s definitely the best Earth has to offer. He’s a genius. He’s a warrior. He’s a ridiculously rich person who uses all that money to better other people’s lives. He’s incredible! But what is it that makes Batman who he is? What has driven him to take on the persona of the caped crusader? Why did he put in the effort to learn all he’s learned, to put his body through the rigorous training to become the fighter that he is, to not just settle down and live the comfortable life available to him by inheriting billions? He put in the effort because of his origin story.

All of our favorite heroes have an origin story. That origin is the reason they are who they are. Spider-Man wouldn’t be Spider-Man if he never got bit by the spider and never lost his uncle. Superman wouldn’t be Superman if he never got sent to earth to avoid being destroyed along with his home planet. And Batman wouldn’t be Batman if his parents didn’t get murdered in a mugging when he was a kid. Whether the hero is fighting the guilt of knowing their decisions hurt somebody and vowing not to let that happen again (Spider-Man), whether they’re simply using their abilities to help others because they feel a moral obligation to do so (Superman), or whether they’re doing it to avenge their loved ones (Batman), the origin story is the driving force behind what they do. The origin story gives power to the character. However, the origin story would be meaningless without the efforts that follow it.

If Spider-Man never took to slinging webs around the city and beating Doctor Octopus and the Kingpin, nobody would care about who Peter Parker was. If Superman’s planet never blew up and he stayed there, he would just be another Kryptonian (and we wouldn’t know anything about him on Earth). If Bruce Wayne never trained physically and mentally and went on to battle the Joker, the sad story of a mugging/double-homicide would have just faded in the newspapers. However, the valiant efforts done after the origin story actually give the origin a great deal of it’s significance. If nothing ever happened afterward, the story would be incomplete.

I believe our lives as Christians are the same way. Salvation is our origin. It is the beginning of our story. It is the driving force behind all the things we do. We live our lives the way we do because of what we’ve experienced God do in us. We love others because Christ first loved us. We serve those around us because Christ showed us the example by serving the hurting in his community, by serving his disciples, and by serving us on the cross. But, just as the origin is incomplete without the hero that comes after, salvation is incomplete in us if our lives never change afterward.

I feel like I have to be very careful here. What I am not saying is that our salvation is based on what we do. When I say, “Salvation is incomplete,” I don’t mean that I believe theologically that we are not justified before God unless we have some set of actions that prove us. What I am saying is that I don’t believe it is God’s intention that our story ends with, “… and then I accepted Jesus.” Our story isn’t just supposed to consist of the life we lived before we met God and then end with salvation. Our story is supposed to truly start the moment we come into relationship with God.

Bruce Wayne became a crime fighter because he had first hand experience of the damage caused by crime in his city. In the same way, if you have a relationship with God, you have first hand experience of the life and hope and fullness you get from that relationship. Salvation is the beginning because then we allow that experience to drive our actions and interactions with other people. When we encounter brokenness we can’t just leave it be, because we have experienced the One who heals. When we encounter depression we can’t just brush it off, because we have experienced the One who brings joy. When we encounter those who feel lost we can’t just write them off, because we have experienced the One in whom we are found. Our own salvation experience should drive us to intentional action in the world around us. We are no longer passive participants. We have experienced something different, something new, and we have to use that in order to help the broken world around us.

I know the analogy isn’t perfect. I know there’s a point where it breaks down. But I think this is worth thinking about: Have I looked at salvation in my life as the happy ending to my story, or have I looked at it as a new beginning and a catalyst to bring about the healing and wholeness of God to the world around me?

My goal and my prayer is to live the latter of those two statements. I want to use the experience I’ve had with God to be the driving force in my life. Just as Bruce Wayne didn’t sit back and live the life of a playboy billionaire, I don’t want to sit back and live relaxed knowing that I have God in my life so I’m all set. I want to intentionally engage in the world around me. There are people who need God, people who are broken and lost and discouraged. I want to show them the God that I know. I don’t want salvation to be the end for me. It has to be the beginning, or else I truly believe my story will be incomplete.