Read this word. . .

Hero

What pops into your mind? I'm thinking muscular, long hair, five o'clock shadow on a strongly cut jaw, tall, a piercing gaze, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and kill a spider without screaming like a little girl.

Okay, so that's what's in my cartoon bubble, but a hero doesn't have to look that way. It could be a puny one-armed boy with a lisp who saves the day, but regardless of the shape and form, every story needs a hero.

Why?

Because deep down, we all crave a hero. Someone to save us from evil. To bring to rights all that is wrong. To go after and slay the demons that torment us. To hold us in strong arms and whisper that everything will be all right.

Whether we admit to this craving or not, we all have it, but where does that craving come from?

I think we're born with it. Deep down, we all know we need saving and there's only one ultimate hero that can rescue us.

Jesus.

Don't worry. I'm not going to smack you upside the head with a 2x4 Bible. I don't have to. That's God's job. But think about Jesus as the ultimate hero for a minute. What do we know about Him?
~ He beat death
~ He whooped Satan
~ He crushed the gates of Hell
~ He gave Himself up willingly for our soul's sake
~ He was compassionate enough to heal the sick and lame and allow little children to climb up on His lap

Are those not the qualities of a breath stealing hero? Go therefore and do likewise with your fictional heroes if you want your story to connect with the reader in a primal way.