We all like stories about heroes. A hero is someone who bravely does something that’s not easy as a way of helping others that need it. Firemen and policemen work very hard and put themselves in a lot of danger to keep people safe. Many doctors and nurses do, too, and even some other kinds of people we may not even think of.

There are lots of ways to be a hero. The key is for us to not think only of ourselves, but for others and how to help them in a time of need.

In a world full of problems and troubles, it’s good to think about heroes because they show us how we can become heroes, too. Some famous heroes in the Bible are Job, Noah, Moses, David, Elijah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Esther, Paul—and of course, Jesus Christ. The Bible tells their history and that of many others. We should read and re-read the stories of their lives and learn what made them heroes and think of how to be like them.

Today we’re going to talk about a hero who was not so famous, but his name is in the Bible. This man comes into the picture when Jesus the Saviour had just had the heavy wooden cross forced onto His back. The Romans were being very mean, but Jesus was patient the whole time. He had not had anything to eat or drink for many hours, He had not been given a chance to sleep, and He had been scourged (whipped with sharp metal pieces that made His skin bleed). Now the cruel soldiers expected Him to carry the huge cross on His back on the way to be crucified. His human body was not strong enough, so He fell fainting to the ground. Now who would be willing to carry that cross?

Simon of Cyrene, a kind stranger, saw what was happening. He heard the crowd yelling and making fun of Jesus. When the soldiers saw Simon, they quickly grabbed him and put the cross on Simon’s shoulders.

Before then, Simon had not been a follower of Christ. But he felt that to bear the cross for Jesus was a blessing. He was very glad he got to bear that cross and he soon became a follower of the Master.

Sometimes we see something that’s very hard to do. But we also see it would be good if someone would just go ahead and do it to help everyone. Why not be that person? Let’s learn to be a hero like Simon of Cyrene! We’ll be blessed just like he was.—BHM.