Holy Urinals, Batman!!

Hello Emmanuel,

So I went to my first comic convention this past weekend.  My 12 year-old has a fascination with super heroes and so I decided to take her to see what the hype was all about.  What I rediscovered was that I have the same fascination too.

I met Adam West at the urinal.  I know.  You didn’t expect to read that as part of the next paragraph.  For those of you too young to know who Adam West is, he was the ‘original’ batman in the 1960’s tv series.  I didn’t say anything to him (nor did I offer to shake his hand).  If I have to explain why, then you are too young to read this paragraph.

Through the next 3 hours or so, I saw and met a lot of people who were very comfortable looking out of place.  Indeed, because I was not in costume, I was the one who looked out of place.  Nevertheless, it was a fine time with Hope.  She got her picture with many characters and a few actors as well.  Adam West and Burt Ward?  Nope… wasn’t going to pay $100 for a picture.  I’ll settle for the awkward bathroom encounter.  It was free.

I saw a lot of people who didn’t care what I thought.  It was refreshing.  If they wanted to dress up like a hero even though they didn’t have the physique to do so, they did so anyway.  Good for them.  Tight clothing (or lack thereof) shouldn’t be worn by some people.  However, I wonder if many of us Christians could take a lesson from such attitudes.  Do you worry about what other people think of you?  Perhaps there are times when it is important (like job interviews), but are there times when you shouldn’t let it bother you?

God has made you unique.  You might not have super powers, but you do have gifts.  There are things that you have and things you can do that make you special.  You may or may not like those gifts, but trying to disguise yourself ends up hiding the person God made you to be.  There were no Clark Kents or Bruce Waynes at the convention… but a lot of supermans and batmans. 

If you are one that struggles with your uniqueness, I invite you to try going to a comic convention.  And if that doesn’t do anything for you, try going to a church.  Unique people are everywhere and often encourage the use of unique gifts.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe