By Steve McIlwain

Hubs here.

Let’s face it: superhero movies are hot.  Since 1978 they have made almost $11 billion at the U.S. box office.  The summer line-up is always power-packed with a superhero line-up poised to rake in lots of cash.  I guess there’s something intriguing about a normal guy maintaining an ordinary life while also possessing just the right background and skillset to make him a superstar: a triumphant alter-ego that saves innocent people from world domination.  Throw in some explosions and a nice little love story, and its pure cinematic magic.

I think your marriage is a lot like that superhero: unsuspecting, ordinary, maybe a touch plain with just the right set of magic to maintain a world-changing alter ego.

When you got married, a new entity was born.  You were still an individual, possessing all your skills and abilities, but then those talents became part of a different, newly created unit.  This new unit contains a unique blend of skills, opportunities, and prospects.  It allows you to solve problems, provide support, and help others in a way that you couldn’t do before being married.  It’s almost as if it unlocked a new realm of possibilities in which you can operate.  With that in mind, what is your marriage superpower, and how can you use that to help your neighborhood, church, community, city, state, country and/or world??

Every marriage has at least one superpower … many have multiple.  Sometimes you need to dig a little to find it, but it’s there.  What unique blend of talents does your marriage possess that can be used to make the world a better place?  What are your collective passions, abilities, and strengths?  How can you purposefully support and encourage each other to improve our world?

There’s a near unlimited list of potential superpowers that might lie within your marriage.  As a couple are you poised to provide financial support to those in need, go on short or long term mission trips, connect people through the power of networking and relationships, be prayer warriors, mentor young couples, start your own ministry, volunteer for community outreach, or adopt a child?  Does your heart break for underprivileged youth, victims of abuse, or social injustice?  Do you love rolling up your sleeves and creating school rooms, doing yard work, or painting walls?  It might not be something that you have thought about, but what unique blend of passions, abilities, and talents do you and your spouse possess as a couple?

Sometimes a proposition like this can seem daunting.  Perhaps you don’t think you have anything special to offer.  For inspiration on that, the Bible is filled with heroic tales of less-than-adequate people who simply followed God’s direction. There’s the overlooked and underrated shepherd boy, David, who became a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), was anointed as king of Israel (1 Samuel 16), defeated Goliath with a sling and stone (1 Samuel 17), and ultimately became known as one of the greatest warriors of all time (1 Samuel 18:30). Then there’s Moses who had a speech impediment (Exodus 4:10) but was given an audience with the king of Egypt and was ultimately used by God to rescue the Israelites from slavery. God loves the unlikely because in our weakness, He is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Through God’s supernatural and limitless power, we, as His sons and daughters, are given platforms and abilities to do way beyond anything we could imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Also, skills as simple as listening, picking up trash, cooking, and greeting truly are powerful abilities that can be used mightily in your local community.  Maybe you already have a full schedule and simply cannot take on anything else.  Sometimes you have seasons in life where you simply don’t have any time to offer … and that’s ok.  Perhaps the main task in front of your marriage is to hold on and keep it together: that’s definitely a superpower to focus on when you are in that situation.  After all, the very survival of your marriage is a ministry in itself.  However, you may be poised to think outside your current walls, re-examine your priorities, and shift some things around to allow for your purpose to really shine.  If you feel that you’re currently executing your purpose as a couple, keep up the good work!

It always amazes me when couples demonstrate amazing generosity, fortitude, and purpose through utilizing their superhuman strengths.  Recently I have heard some inspiring stories of couples putting on their capes, masks, and stretchy pants (not literally) to help those in need.  These couples have:

  • Given a homeless man a 15 minute ride to the bus station.
  • Signed up for a short term mission trip to Africa.
  • Adopted three children from South America.
  • Donated money to a local charity.
  • Volunteered their time at a low-income housing project.
  • Taken a couple who just moved to the area out to dinner.

That is just a small list of examples, little and big, of how couples are embracing their collective strengths to change the world.  Your marriage is an incredible blend of magical qualities that can be used for good in the universe.  Every day you can live the superhero’s journey of normalcy during the day and crime fighting at night.  You may be asking, “Why do we need to use our superpowers at all?  Why should we?”  Well, the honest answer is that you don’t have to: but the world’s not going to save itself.

Copyright © 2013, Foundation Restoration.  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No reproduction allowed without written permission from Foundation Restoration and/or the author.