Our daughter is a nurse and at the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak, the hospital that she works at set up a Covid Tent for testing. Doctors, nurses and administration staff willingly walked through the tent doors every day, risking their own lives, in order to help those who were sick.

The Covid tent was taken down this week and staff who worked in the tent and in the hospital were presented with ‘COVID-19 HERO’ medals.

My daughter does not see herself as a hero.

I see her as a hero.

In fact I see the majority of us living today as heroes.

The ones who serve others or work and contribute financially to help others, and the ones who are sick or destitute who wake up every morning with a smile and a sense of thankfulness and gratefulness – we are all capable of being heroes at different times in our lives.

When our youngest daughter was five years old she had to dress up as her hero for a day at school.

I explained to her that a hero was someone who is admired for their courage, kindness and care towards people, animals and the environment. Someone who will look after you and protect you if you are in danger or hurt or are just feeling sad.

I then asked her who her hero was and she replied ‘Sarah’. So she dressed up as Sarah for school.

Sarah is her older sister, now a nurse, who doesn’t feel like a hero.

Heroes are everyday people who live in our homes. Who serve us in shops. Who we meet on the street.

“A hero is just an ordinary person who does something extraordinary” – Philip Zimbardo

The founder of the Heroic Imagination Project (HIP), Philip Zimbardo, believes that heroism can be taught.

His HIP programs are designed “to instill in the present generation — and in future ones — the notion of heroism not as something reserved for those rare individuals who do or achieve something extraordinary, but as a mind-set or behavior possible for anyone who is capable of doing an extraordinary deed.”

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is the ultimate hero.

Jesus, who chose to come down to earth from heaven, chose to live as a human being for a period of time, chose to die the most horrific death by crucifixion -what a hero.

Jesus, who chose to be whipped, spat upon and cursed – what a hero.

Jesus, who knew that the sacrificial giving of His life would not be accepted by all but still chose to sacrifice Himself – what a hero.

Jesus, who bore our sins upon His body – what a hero.

Jesus, who suffered and died and rose again in order that we would be able to spend eternity with Him. Jesus who forgives us our sins – what a hero.

Jesus embodies every single characteristic of a hero.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16