How to fight the bad guys

When my big boys were little boys, they played the craziest game. It was a game invented by their sweet friend in the house across the street, and it will probably live on in neighborhood lore for eternity. Ninja Turtles. They played Ninja Turtles. And yeah. They aren’t going to be happy with me for making this public knowledge. 

They had masks and names and missions and narrowly avoided killing themselves numerous times. They scaled fences, climbed trees, hid behind bushes and under neighbor’s decks all in the name of catching the “bad guy”.  Several of our neighbors nearly suffered heart attacks when they were surprised by masked boys leaping into their yard from a tree. And I lived in fear of them actually being able to make it over the big fence in our backyard.

It is truly a miracle they survived that phase.

Once they put on those masks, though, they were unstoppable. Unstoppable in their pursuit of evil and in their belief that they would succeed.

I find one of these old masks in a kitchen drawer and wonder if it still works. What I wouldn’t give for an ounce of the confidence they possessed while wearing those masks.

Would I be braver if I put it on? Would the world look different through the eyeholes of that mask?

Because life can sometimes suck the brave right out of you, can’t it? The job you once felt certain was your calling can suddenly feel overwhelming, the people you once thought were your friends can make bad choices and the days that once seemed carefree and lovely can become filled with doubt and worry.

Bad guys can show up in the form of insecurity, sickness, or heartache. They can jump out at you from anywhere and make you wish you had remembered to wear your Ninja mask.

And this past week as we have been walking through the first days of Lent, our eyes and hearts have been held captive by so much horror. Since that fateful day when once again a gunman walked into a high school and took the lives of 17 precious children, it has felt a bit like the bad guys are winning.

Lent leaves us hungry for the presence of Jesus; hungry for his light; his truth; his goodness and all that plays out on the world’s stage can tempt us to believe he isn’t with us.

A friend sends me a note asking me to sign a petition, to go with her to a rally, to call my Senator. It could be our kids, our high school next, she writes. My heart pounds fast and hard in my ears.

A faithful blog reader asks if I will write about what happened in Florida, You have a way of writing about tragic events that helps me know what to do next, she writes. I cry when I read that.

The world is broken. The bad guys are everywhere. What are the good guys to do? I carry that old Ninja mask with me all day.

And then we learned of the passing of one of America’s greatest evangelists, Billy Graham. And I find this amazing thing happening in the news media and in my own social media feeds.

In between the posts and the yelling about guns, mental health, safer schools, and dishonest politicians, quotes of Scripture begin to appear. In between the news stories of horror and outrage come stories of a man who preached the Gospel of Jesus with every fiber of his being; stories of a man who traveled the world advised Presidents and never stopped living the crucified life no matter what came his way.

Suddenly, there was light in the middle of all the darkness.

I scroll through the stories and read the quotes that fill the articles written about his 99 years on this earth.

“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others often stiffen.” Billy Graham

I stare at the old Ninja mask in my hands and wonder how we are called to be courageous in a world like ours. What fences are we called to climb? What barriers are we called to reach across?

“Sin is the second most powerful force in the universe, for it sent Jesus to the cross. Only one force is greater — the love of God.” Billy Graham

And it was that love that ruled his life. It’s the story that everyone who ever met him is telling. Reverend Graham loved Jesus and he lived out that love with his life. And now, in the middle of all the darkness, that love shines brighter than anything this world can throw at it.

There is much we can do to help make this world a better place; a safer place. We are the land of the free and the home of the brave, and we have not only the right but the responsibility to speak out for what is good and true and just.

But it can feel overwhelming; like you really do need Ninja powers to make a difference.

Here’s what reading about Billy Graham’s life has reminded me. We are all on the same mission, and we don’t have to have all the answers. We just have to point to the One who does.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life”  

Billy Graham staked his whole life on that promise, and the world is a better place because of it. I’m pretty sure he knew what I keep forgetting. A love that sacrificed everything can give us the courage to climb fences and break down barriers without any Ninja moves at all. And it can bring light into dark spaces; one life at a time.