Excelsior!

Sometimes surprisingly spiritual messages turn up in unexpected places, like in a comic book, for example. Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee passed away in 2018, leaving behind a legacy of such iconic heroes as Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk and many others. The famously smiling man with sunglasses had a personal catchphrase that he used to sign off in monthly columns in Marvel comics for decades—the Latin word excelsior. In a 2010 tweet, Lee explained its meaning: “‘Upward and onward to greater glory!’ That’s what I wish you whenever I finish tweeting! Excelsior!” I like that. Whether Stan Lee realized it or not, his use of this unusual Latin phrase certainly resonates with what Paul wrote in Philippians as he admonished believers to look not behind, but ahead—and up: “But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (vv. 13–14 esv). We can easily become entangled in regrets or second-guessing past decisions. But in Christ, we’re invited to relinquish regrets and a crippling focus on our failures to press upward and onward to God’s greater glory through embracing the forgiveness and purpose He so graciously gives us! Excelsior!