For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14)
What would happen if we really believed that we had come
into our current circumstances for “such a time as this”? I know people who kid
about waiting for the letter from Hogwarts. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we were
that chosen one? Later on, we might screw things up, but what if… what if we
were the hero of the hour? What if we are the hero of this hour?
The current words of “wisdom” for writers is that they
should strip their heroes of everything. Their mentors gone (Obi-wan Kenobi,
Dumbledore, Gandalf….) Their friends, dead or helpless. They’re supposed to almost
win, then lose but escape and return one last time, and the outcome must be uncertain.
In fact, even after they win, their enemies may return. Even their vaunted,
empowered and named weapon may be taken from them.
In a story, this has to happen so that the victory isn’t
just handed to the hero. In our lives, it often has to happen so that we don’t
look to ourselves for victory.
As I look at what’s going on in the world, I find myself asking whether this is one of those times for which we have come into our positions for? Is this an Esther moment not just for one of us, but for many of us? If so, how can we help the other Esthers? And how are we being called to risk out lives today?
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