What Would My Superpower Be?

Have you ever had one of those paper napkins that has a question or conversation starter on it?

I recently got one that said, "You were granted a superpower for today only.  What is it?"

Now, with all those superhero movies, you'd think I'd have a great response, or at least a movie-related answer.


During this is time of the year our church readings cover The Parable of the Good Samaritan.  And I've heard several good sermons on that passage.  

So my immediate thought to "a superpower for today only" was - "I want to be able to love my neighbor as myself."

Okay, that might sound lame and a bit underwhelming.  Can't I think of something bigger, such as finding a cure for cancer, solving world hunger, or just making life better for everyone, in some way?

But I'm sinful and selfish, which influences my superpower choice. 

In explaining the Ten Commandments, Martin Luther points out what each commandment forbids and what each commandment requires.  

For instance, in the commandment not to steal, we're forbidden from taking our neighbor's possessions.  But we're required to help our neighbor protect his possessions and income, and even to help him improve them.

And all the "keeping of the commandments" boils down to a "loving of one's neighbor." 

For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Romans 13:9

And while "loving one's neighbor" sounds so simple, it's not.  It's a heart issue.  It's an issue that all Christians struggle with.  I go to this passage from Paul again and again:

For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate...For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.  Romans 7:15 and 18

I want to love my neighbor as myself, but I can't.  And I'm condemned.

But Jesus.  He perfectly loved his neighbor.  And along with defeating sin, death, and Satan, and in dying on the cross and then rising again, Jesus conquers it all for me. 

This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.  John 15:12-13

Jesus laid down his life for His friends.  

I may not "save" the world from hunger or disease, but I don't need to.  Jesus did and does it all, ultimately.

The only "superpower" I need is one I already have.  Faith - faith given by the Super Power. 

Each day, my prayer is for a new heart - to grow in faith and in the ability to love other people.