Any "Lin Hos" for Christ out there?

A little more than a month ago, at the opening ceremony for the Olympics, a little nine year old boy named Lin Ho accompanied basketball hero Yao Ming, as they led the Chinese athletes into the Bird's Nest arena. Lin Ho was chosen for this honor because of his remarkable and heroic performance during an earthquake that had taken place earlier this year. It is my understanding, after reading multiple sources about the situation, that Lin Ho's grade school collapsed during the earthquake, which resulted in many deaths, while many students (still alive) were seriously injured and stuck or buried under rubble as they tried to hold on to dear life. Lin Ho was one of those students who had been injured (with a gash in his head) and also stuck, and yet he managed to free himself and find his way out of the collapsed school. But the heroic thing about his story is what he did after making his way to safety; he immediately decided to trek back into the school of rubble and debris in hopes of finding and saving other survivors. Reports say that in fact Lin Ho freed several classmates and led them to safety. The most remarkable part of this story is the way Lin Ho answered reporters, who asked him "why" he would go back into danger after freeing himself. Lin Ho's answer: "I had been voted class leader, and it was my responsibility to look out for the others." Little Lin Ho understood that a certain title and position had been appointed unto him, and he knew it carried much responsibility along with it. As the appointed"class leader" (or "hall monitor"), Lin Ho wanted to live worthy of the calling he had received. He knew he could have made his way to safety and wiped his hands and said, "I'm glad I got outta' that mess!" without even looking back, but he also knew that his calling (and the responsibilities that came with it) wouldn't let him live with himself if he did. And so he did something unfortunately rare in today's world; he put his own inhibitions and concerns aside, and he lived up to the calling he had recieved. Lin Ho stunned the world as perhaps the best "class leader" anyone could have asked for, which is why a pre-olympic national poll in China placed him within the top 50 heroes of modern China.

In a world where people are quick to enjoy the priviledges of titles and positions but equally quick to forfeit responsibilities when their callings and appointments get tough, perhaps some of us could learn a lesson or two from Lin Ho. In fact, it would do well for Christians to let this remarkable story of Lin Ho remind us of our own calling as Christians and to reinforce our determination to live up to that calling. Ephesians 2:10 says "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." And later, Ephesians 4 demands that we "live a life worthy of the calling we have received." Yes, God has created us and called us to do good works which he has long prepared for us to do, but how many of us are actually living a life worthy of the calling? Too often, like the rest of the world, we focus on ourselves and what we want to do, rather than fulfilling the duties that go with the positions and titles that have been bestowed upon us as children of God.

We are called to be ambassadors, watchmen, intercessors, ...and the list goes on and on (as my students are well aware, as we've done a lot of talking about our responsibilities as Christians lately). Will we fulfill our duties and perform the good works for which God has created us and to which he has called us, or will we shirk our duties when the going gets tough and extreme commitment is required? Any "Lin Hos" for Christ out there?