Today my brother and I watched Batman Begins. The movie is 2 hours, 20 minutes long, but if you skip the fighting and driving scenes in the second half of the movie, you can cut it about in half without missing anything. We watched the whole thing; brothers need appeased sometimes. He had a birthday this week. And I didn’t have anything else to do that required as little energy.
Thinking doesn’t require a lot of energy, so I did that. And I decided that even though Batman is a hero, the bigger heroes in the movie are:
1. Sgt. Gordon, who was a good cop in a corrupt system for at least 14 years. He kept fighting bad guys and doing what he could, each day watching his attempts accomplish apparently nothing. How many times did he look at little boys like Bruce who lost their parents – and he couldn’t stop it? But he kept fighting because it was right.
2. Lucius Fox, who believed in his work, believed in the mission of his company. He is smart, but on a deep level that doesn’t need to brag. He kept his own counsel. When the time was wrong to be speaking and acting, he was preparing. That takes a lot of patience, wisdom, and courage.
3. Rachel Dawes was an idealist, yes, and young. But she didn’t use her compassion in an easy place, somewhere outside Gotham. She could have escaped, but she dreamed of making a difference. She couldn’t be bought. No loyalty took precedence over her love for the truth. Her convictions led her to confront almost everyone in the entire movie. Without her voice, Bruce would not have been the principled, sold-out hero that fought for Gotham at every cost to himself.
I need inspiration from heroes like this. People who behind the scenes, faithfully, every day, when results remain to be seen, keep fighting for what’s right. They take time to prepare for what God has for them. Things and attachments are the trappings of their service, not the gods they serve.
My life has no Batman. But I do know many of these heroes, and I’m grateful to God for them. Do you know any? Maybe you should tell them thank-you, too.
To God be all glory,
Lisa of Longbourn
Lisa of Longbourn 