Where Heroes Are Made

On November 30, exactly 146 years ago; a freemason, the Supremo, Andres Bonifacio seen the first day of his life. Regarded as the Father of Philippine Revolution when he founded Katipunan to fight the Spaniards. A national holiday to remember the contributions of Bonifacio in shaping this country and legacy as hero as we are starving to find another hero to redeem our country from poverty.

Now that our country is in crisis, Filipinos have always needed heroes as our nation is gripped with poverty as the rich and the powerful rules our nation that has brought us to an economic perdition, we look forward for gallant figures to be inspired. But where are the heroes in my midst? What does it takes to become a hero?

"Sagutin ko na lang ung huling tanong mo pre, PUSO, mabuting PUSO... " Lord CM

"the quality magpakatotoo sila. walang bahid na pulitika kundi sincere sa kanilang tungkulin... " Life Moto

"Bayani ka kapag nadadarama mo ang puso ng ibang tao, at marunong kang gamitin ang iyong kamay sa pagtulong na higit sa iyong sarili" DRAKE

"to be a hero..you have to have time,love,and understanding...easy as 1,2,3." iya_khin

"Paano ba maging bayani? Help the least of our brothers. I think biblically and in reality that should make a hero in us." isladenebz

These are the inspiring comments from my blogging friends in my hanging question' "What does it really takes to be a hero?" from my previous post "Paano Ba Maging Bayani?".

We as Filipinos have penchant for heroes, immortalizing the bravery of Gat Jose Rizal and Supremo Andres Bonifacio and the modern day heroes Manny Pacquiao. and Efren Penaflorida, CNN's New Hero.

What is a hero except a person who gives their life away for something greater than themselves. But what does the Bible says about heroes? Heroes have at least these four characteristics based on the following Bible passages:

1. Heroes have special abilities, not extra strength, not x-ray vision, it have empathy, the ability to understand, be aware of, or feel the emotions of another being. "As each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10).

2. Exceed expectations, when Jesus spoke of going the second mile, He was speaking of exceeding expectations as real heroes strive hard to make a difference beyond the normal expectations of mankind. Grace defies expectations. And in particular, God’s grace! And by His grace, so can we."If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." (Matthew 5:41).

3. A hero hold to God’s unchanging hand and count his blessings as his heart fill with compassion to rescue the perishing, while normal people look from a distance as they continue to live with their everyday lives ignoring the cry of the poor and the helpless."The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance." (2 Peter 3:9)

4. Overcome adversity, the hero and coward feel exactly the same fear, however only the hero confronts his fears and converts it into fire. "because everyone who is born from God has overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world." (1 John 5:4)

Heroes are real people, not perfect, not infallible, not immortal, but nevertheless constructive role models. We have been inspired by the 12 million Global Filipinos as New Generation heroes in battling a modern age war against poverty in our native land.

Each one of us has the potential to be a hero, let us try to become something bigger than ourselves by using our God given abilities to make a difference.

If you're looking for a place to belong; a place that will love, encourage and challenge you, then Philippines is the place - where heroes are made.

On December 27, 2009, at Philam Life Theater, Malate, Metro Manila, 37 storytellers from 21 countries coming from the rank of New Generation Heroes commonly called OFWs; will be honored by Pinoy Expats/OFWs Blog Awards Inc. (PEBA) for their best and inspiring blog around the world.

As Noah Blumenthal says in his book Be The Hero, "We all create the stories of our lives and live them accordingly. If you master your stories, if you tell hero stories, they can make you feel happy and relaxed and even make you more effective and successful. It's up to us to rewrite our stories and position ourselves as the hero. Hero stories open up new possibilities and spur us to action."

Photograbbed from flickr.com
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