Look, Up in the Sky!
“Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s Superman!” Those words are among the most familiar in American pop culture. Many people don’t realize, though, that when Superman first appeared he wasn’t able to fly. In the first issue of Action Comics and until the Superman radio serial, the Man of Steel could only jump great distances (about an eighth of a mile to be exact), hence the phrase “able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.” Since mastering the pull of gravity, however, Superman has become the Nijinsky of the air. Grand and graceful, Superman flies freely through the skies of his beloved city, Metropolis.
His ability to soar above the clouds is perhaps Superman’s most inspiring super power. Who hasn’t, at one time or another, wished that they fly through the clouds, rising above the worries and troubles this world often brings? In Superman: The Movie, Lois Lane would have that wish granted.
With pen and paper in-hand, Lois waits on the balcony of her high-rise apartment building—watching the starry sky for the mysterious man who defies gravity. After checking her watch, she almost gives up hope of seeing (and interviewing) him again, but just as she turns away, Superman floats through the night air, lighting upon the ledge of Lois’ balcony. “Good evening, miss Lane,” Superman greets politely.
Startled by his sudden appearance, all Lois can manage to get out is, “Ah, hi...”
“Listen,” Superman courteously offers “it’s no trouble for me to come back later...”
“Don’t move!” Lois jumps to her feet running toward him. “Um, err... sure you can move, um... just don’t fly away, alright.”
After a series of inquiries about Superman’s vital statistic and where he comes from, Lois asks, “Just how fast do you fly?”
“Oh, I don’t really know,” Superman responds. “I’ve never actually bothered to time myself. Say, why don’t we find out?”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Lois questions.
Nodding toward the sky above, “Take a ride with me.”
“You mean I can fly?” Lois laughs.
“Well, actually I’d be handling the flying, if that’s okay?” Superman smiles.
“This is utterly fantastic!” Lois counters in disbelief. But after a little more coaxing, Superman gently takes her by the hand and leads her to the balcony’s edge. Just before Superman can lift them off the terrace, Lois looks up at him in amazement and says, “Clark says you’re just a figment of somebody’s imagination, like Peter Pan.”
“Peter Pan, huh? Peter Pan flew with children, Lois,” Superman answers, “in a fairytale.” Then, with one arm stretched out in front of them, as if leading the way, and the other arm wrapped around Lois, Superman lifts elegantly into the night.
At first, Lois covers her eyes and clings tightly to the strong arm of the Man of Steel as they fly above the city. The streets are all aglow beneath them. Superman’s cape ripples in the wind. After circling around the Statue of Liberty, Superman leads them high above the clouds into the light of the moon. With some encouragement from the Man of Steel, Lois stretches out her arms in euphoria, but accidentally lets go of Superman’s hand. Lois only falls a short distance before Superman catches her in his arms, once again, and the two embrace one another in the air—her arms wrapped around his neck.
Totally overwhelmed by this man who can soar with the eagles, Lois wonders to herself, “Can you read my mind? Do you know what it is that you do to me?” Her thoughts continue, “Here I am… holding hands with a god… wondering why you are all the wonderful things that you are… You can fly! You belong in the sky. You and I could belong to each other.”
After this visually stunning scene, audiences agreed that the producers of the Superman films were true to their promise: “You’ll believe a man can fly.” For Superman fans, that phrase has become something of a motto.
One of the things Brian Singer, director of Superman Returns, did to honor the Richard Donner films, was to end his movie the same way that Superman I and II ended more than twenty years prior. In all three pictures, after Superman has completed his work, the Man of Steel ascends into the heavens. Flying high above the Earth, Superman smiles as he looks down upon the world he has saved.
The citizens of Metropolis, Superman’s beloved city, are some of the most hope-filled people on Earth—living out their lives in awe and wonder as they watch the skies in anticipation for the return of their hero... their savior.
Fans of Superman and followers of Jesus have something in common—we believe a man can fly! The Bible says that after Jesus rose from the dead he appeared to his disciples and, “It was not long afterwards that he rose into the sky and disappeared into a cloud, leaving them staring after him” (Acts 1:9 TLB). Like the people of Metropolis, we have a Savior who has ascended into the heavens, and like them, we wait in anticipation for his return—living out our lives in awe and wonder, always watching the sky.
After Jesus disappeared into the clouds, angels proclaimed, “Why are you standing here looking into the sky? Jesus, whom you saw taken up from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you saw him go” (Acts 1:11). The Bible says that when Jesus returns we “will see the Son of Man coming on clouds in the sky with great power and glory” (Matthew 24:30).# And just as Lois was able to soar through the sky with Superman, we too will one day meet Jesus in the air. Listen to what the Bible says:
The Lord himself will come down from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. And those who have died believing in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive will be gathered up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And we will be with the Lord forever. (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Oh, what a wonderful day that will be! The return of Jesus will herald, as Max Lucado says, “the beginning of the very best.” Just consider for a moment what the coming of Christ will mean for the world.
For starters, paradise lost will be paradise restored. Long ago, God declared, “Look, I will make new heavens and a new earth” (Isaiah 65:17). God’s plan for the Earth is not to destroy it, but to redeem it, to renew it, to restore it to the perfect paradise it once was before the fall. In John’s vision of Heaven, he says, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The first heaven and the first earth had disappeared… And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It was prepared like a bride dressed for her husband.” Then “the One who was sitting on the throne said, ‘Look! I am making everything new!’” (Revelation 21:1-5). Although the glory of Heaven—as we’ve already mentioned in chapter one—will be beyond description, we are certainly capable of imagining a better world; a world of beauty and grandeur, a paradise as God intended it to be. But that’s not all.
Jesus’ return will also hail the total abolition of evil. The never-ending battle will finally end. The Bible says, “And Satan, who tricked [God’s people], was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur with the beast and the false prophet. There they will be punished day and night forever and ever” (Revelation 20:10). One of the greatest blessings of heaven is what won’t be there. No death, disease, or divorce. No trials, tribulation, or turmoil. Without the presence of evil, the New Heaven and New Earth will be like nothing we’ve ever experienced. In his book, Heaven, Randy Alcorn responds to the question—what won’t be in heaven?
No death, no suffering. No funeral homes, abortion clinics, or psychiatric wards. No rape, missing children, or drug rehabilitation centers. No bigotry, no muggings or killings. No worry or depression or economic downturns. No wars, no unemployment… Close friendships but no cliques, laughter but no put-downs. Intimacy, but no temptation to immorality. No hidden agendas, no backroom deals, no betrayals.#
What a wonderful world to look forward to. But wait, there’s more. The Bible says that when Jesus comes riding on the clouds “those who have died believing in Christ will rise,” and after the resurrection we will be given new bodies! Listen to how the Bible describes our heavenly bodies:
The sun has one kind of beauty, the moon has another beauty, and the stars have another. And each star is different in its beauty. It is the same with the dead who are raised to life. The body that is “planted” will ruin and decay, but it is raised to a life that cannot be destroyed. When the body is “planted,” it is without honor, but it is raised in glory. When the body is “planted,” it is weak, but when it is raised, it is powerful. The body that is “planted” is a physical body. When it is raised, it is a spiritual body. (1 Corinthians 15:41-44)
Indestructible. Honorable. Glorious. Powerful. Those are words that describe what your new body will be like. In this life, after we reach a certain age the rate of cellular decay (catabolism) in our bodies begins to exceed the rate of cellular regeneration (anabolism), which is why we get weaker as we get older. When Christ comes, though, we will be given new bodies that are no longer susceptible to decay. One translation says, “when they come back to life they will be superhuman bodies” (vs. 43 TLB).
Not only will Christ’s coming inaugurate our resurrection, but it will also initiate our reunion. Imagine reuniting with family and friends! Imagine meeting your great, great grandchildren or holding the hands of loved ones you once laid to rest. But most importantly of all we will be reunited with our Creator and Savior. “On the day when the Lord Jesus comes,” the Bible says, “all the people who have believed will be amazed at Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:10).
The most amazing thing in heaven will be our intimate relationship with our Maker and Redeemer. In Heaven, the Bible says, “God’s presence is with people and he will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them and will be their God” (Revelation 21:3). In relation to this verse, Randy Alcorn comments, “We won’t need to be drawn into God’s presence. We’ll live there, constantly and consciously.”# Our restored relationship with God will offer infinite possibilities. “Imagine,” writes Hank Hanegraaff, “exploring the depths of God’s love, wisdom, and holiness. Imagine forever growing in our capacities to fathom his immensity, immutability, and incomprehensibility. And to top it all off,” he continues, “the more we come to know him, the more there will be to know.”# Jesus will spend eternity revealing to us why he is all the wonderful things he is.
Is it any wonder that some Christians spend their whole lives gazing into the clouds—hoping, waiting anxiously for the day of Christ’s Coming. Like the people of Metropolis, we have a Hero who was sent from above to save the world. He laid down his life for the ones he loved, over came the grave, and ascended once more into the clouds. But before leaving, he promised that he would come again.
Until then, let us be the most hope-filled people on Earth—living out our lives in awe and wonder as we watch the skies in anticipation for the return of our Hero... our Savior. Until then, let us always believe a man can fly.
