By: Sam Chan
I love Ed Sheeran. I love so many things about him. I love his songs. His voice. His mop of red hair.
I love Ed Sheeran. There I’ve said it. I love Ed Sheeran.
But what I especially love about Ed Sheeran is this. He’s the pop star for whom I can say, “Wait … I’m as good looking as he is!”
This is rare. I can’t say I can dance better than Michael Jackson. I can’t say I’m as bad-ass as Ice-T. I can’t say I’m better looking than Justin Bieber.
But I can say I’m as good looking as Ed Sheeran.
He’s no taller than I am. His face is no more symmetrical than mine. And he, like me, doesn’t have the Greco-Roman nose, which women find the epitome of masculinity and handsomeness. Ryan Gosling, Hugh Jackman, Liam Neeson, I’m looking at you!
Ed Sheeran is the every-day hero.
We can relate with him. And he can relate with us.
In, my favourite Ed Sheeran song, “Castles on the Hill” (2017), I think, “Wait! This is my life!”
When he sings, “Singing to [Elton John’s] ‘Tiny Dancer’”; we say, “Hey, I do that.” When he sings, “Had my first kiss on a Friday night, I don’t reckon I did it right”; we reminisce, “Me too!” When he sings, “One friend left to sell clothes”; we say, “Wait, I’ve a friend like that.” And when his heart breaks, “I miss the way you make me feel”; we ache, “Oh yeah, that’s exactly how I feel right now.”
And that’s Ed Sheeran’s charm. He’s one of us. We get him.
And he gets us.
In Greek mythology, the gods lived in Mount Olympus, removed far from us. In Asian mythology, the gods were never on our side.
But in the Bible, Jesus is on our side. He becomes the every-day hero. Carpenter. Blue-collared. Working class. Keeping it real. One of us.
Jesus gets us. He cries our tears. He sweats our sweat. And his heart breaks just like ours.
And if he made all that effort to be one of us. Maybe it’s time we get him.
Talk to him now. He knows exactly how we feel and what we’re going through.
Jesus is our every-day hero. So make him our hero. Every day.
Article supplied with thanks to Espresso Theology.
About the Author: Sam is a theologian, preacher, author, evangelist, ethicist, cultural analyst and medical doctor.