I was listening to a news briefing and heard a quote from Ben Affleck:

While he ponders his own future as the Dark Knight, the actor does see a timeliness in Justice League's arrival now. “We certainly are in need of heroes in 2017,” Affleck says. “There's a lot of stuff going on in the world, from natural to man-made disasters, and it's really scary. Part of the appeal of this genre is wish fulfillment: Wouldn't it be nice if there was somebody who can save us from all this, save us from ourselves, save us from the consequences of our actions and save us from people who are evil?” USA Today

Immediately my mind went to one of my favorite stories in the book of Acts.

“Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.” Acts 17:16

Paul gets invited to speak, which is one of the most crucial and important parts of the story. Here is what Paul shares:

'So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: 'To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for “'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, “'For we are indeed his offspring.' Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”  Acts 17:22-31 

So when we see someone in our culture saying, “Wouldn't it be nice if there was somebody who can save us from all this, save us from ourselves, save us from the consequences of our actions and save us from people who are evil?”, I want to scream, “What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you!”

Our culture is desperate for answers and desperate for hope. When invited, let us share that there is someone who can save us from all this, save us from ourselves, save us from the consequences of our actions and save us from people who are evil… His name is Jesus!