I've been thinking lately about what makes a hero. Most stories have heroes (or heroines), in the sense that they each have a protagonist, someone who is at the centre of the action and is the character we sympathize with the most. But how many of our stories have real heroes in them - in the sense that the Bible defines a hero?

I know from my own experience that it's a lot harder to create a convincing hero than a convincing villain. Maybe because there aren't as many examples from real life.  I have to confess that I haven't created many good heroic characters in my stories (I'm working on that). But based on the books I've read and the principles I've learned from the Bible, I can think of at least one very important thing that I'd like to see more of in my own heroes and in those of other writers.

I think that the most important characteristic that a hero can have is self-sacrifice. In real life, the greatest heroes are the ones who followed the example of Jesus Christ, and our fictional heroes should be the same way. Although Jesus obeyed God's will perfectly in every way, what really defined His life on earth was self-sacrifice. Even before He went to the cross, He was constantly sacrificing His own comfort in order to serve people who never came close to fully appreciating what He did for them. We should follow this example in our own lives - and in the lives of the good characters we create.

Of course our heroes should have other good qualities like honesty, courage, and integrity, but it's most important that they be willing to sacrifice themselves for others. This could mean having a hero actually lay down his life for someone else, but it could also mean simply portraying a mother who gives up her career and sacrifices her time and energy to help her children. If you think about it, all the greatest heroes - in real life and in literature - were heroes because they gave up something they loved in order to do what was right. I believe that is the definition of true heroism.

Now, fictional heroes must not only be admirable, they must also be somewhat realistic. This means that, unless you're attempting to write an allegory with a character representing God, it's good to give your hero some flaws. I've read a few books where the heroes were so angelically good that I couldn't relate to them at all. I never read any of those books twice. Even the best heroes are still people. They should have personalities - with talents, quirks, fears, and besetting sins, just like in real life. Of course, if a person is really the hero of a story, his good traits should outshine his bad ones, but he should have just enough bad traits to make him seem real.

In today's culture, which likes to pretend that life is "all about YOU!", it can be hard to find self-sacrificing heroes, either in real life or in literature. I think that makes it even more important that we include them in our stories. My ultimate goal in writing fiction is that my readers will be blessed and encouraged to pursue a better relationship with God; and I think one way to do that is by giving them Christ-like heroes that will help point them to the cross, which is the ultimate act of heroism.