I was recently reminded that Greek mythology is taught in our public schools but the name of the one true God is only heard as a curse word. How sad. As we’ve just celebrated the birth of Jesus, I’ve also been reminded that many people we brush shoulders with every day have absolutely no comprehension of what Christmas is all about or the significance of Jesus’ amazing, unusual birth.
Hercules, the Roman equivalent of Heracles, is the son of Jupiter (Roman) or Zeus(Greek)and the mortal Alcmene. If you want to read about a dysfunctional family, just study Greek or Roman mythology!
- Hercules, son of a god and a mortal
- Jesus, son of God and a mortal, Mary
Hercules is known for his great strength and amazing adventures. We sort of skip over the god/mortal part and just enjoy the stories. Great reading I suppose if that sort of thing floats your boat! But remember that Satan always has his counterfeit for everything God does, and this one isn’t any less dangerous than his first one in the garden (Gen. 3). If we skip over the God/mortal part of Jesus’ birth, we miss the greatest message ever told:
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
.16.NKJV
Jesus’ birth was no deceptive plan of seduction as was Hercules’ story. It is the amazing account of the loving, true, one and only God who LOVED the people He created so much that He was willing to allow His eternal, no beginning, Son to leave His perfect, sinless throne room of heaven, and be born of a young, virgin woman, Mary. Jesus would live a perfect life among imperfect people and grow up to walk this earth healing the sick, raising the dead, and preaching the good news of repentance and redemption. While Hercules used his super-human strength to fight his enemies, Jesus died on the cross to conquer our greatest enemy—sin.
The story of Jesus is amazing, almost unbelievable. No, it IS unbelievable without faith! Anyone hungering for truth and peace and love and hope must come to Jesus by faith—trusting Him to be true, trusting Him to be exactly who He said He is—the ONLY Son of God.
And why would God send His Son to this earth? So “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Paul spoke the following words to a desperate man in his day, and the Lord still speaks them to us today, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31 NKJV).
Jesus said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 NKJV).
Hercules may give you some truths about living this life, but only Jesus can prepare you for the next one–eternal life!
Beyond Common Sense 