I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a man. By that I mean, I've been thinking about what it means to be a man after God's own heart. I'll be honest, I'm often better at being a man of this world, than a man of God. Being a man of God is much more difficult because it requires obedience, reverence, surrender, and sacrifice. Being a man of the world is easy, it requires an ego, pride, selfishness, and foolishness... all which come pretty easily to us men. However, I also realize that what I gain by striving to be a man of God is exponentially greater than what I gain from the world. Over the last two days my thoughts about Godly manhood have been running rampant... and I've realized that there are a few key things that are crucial to my development as a Godly man:
A Godly man must kneel before God and pray... fervently.
There are three key words in that statement... kneel, pray, fervently. The first key word, kneel, is important because kneeling before God is an act of reverence. Now, that doesn't mean that I'm not reverent through prayer when I'm not kneeling. However, I believe that when I kneel before God I am acknowledging (in a physical way) that I am smaller than God, that I am weaker than God, and that I am in awe of God. Now, to me personally, kneeling can be rather uncomfortable-- and I find that in my discomfort, I must be more disciplined in the way that I pray. By being more disciplined in my prayers, I am able to be more transparent with God... more, vulnerable with Him. I believe that the strength and intimacy of my relationship with God is greatly impacted by my ability to be vulnerable before Him. In order to stand tall in this world, I must kneel before my God. The second key word, pray, is pretty self-explanatory. In order to truly understand who God is calling me to be, I need to open the lines of communication regularly. I don't mean that I pray every night before bed, and that covers the 24 hour period that we call a day. No, it's much bigger than that. It means I consult God throughout my day.. some days more than others.. but regardless I seek His counsel in each and every decision I am faced with, in order to be fully vested in the will of God. That third word, fervently, that's quite possibly one of the most crucial words in the above statement. My prayers absolutely CAN NOT be relaxed. In order to seek God's counsel I must pray fervently, which means I must pray with a burning, fiery, passion to know the will of God for my life. I love using the word fervently to describe how I want/need/sometimes do pray because it conveys a sense of urgency. My communication with God is urgent, because I can't do anything without Him... at least nothing that is glorifying to Him.
A Godly man must be a leader.
As I stated before.. I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a Godly man, which has led me to thinking about the kind of man I want/need to be, which has led to thoughts of the future. I must preface this in saying that I am in no way prepared to be married, or making plans to be married anytime in the near future. However, that doesn't mean I don't think about marriage, or my role as a husband and father. Those thoughts initially tie right back into my first point about prayer. In order to be the kind of husbands God calls us to be, we have to pray for our wives. It's never to early to do that. I started praying for my wife years ago... and I don't have any idea who she is. I pray that she is growing in her relationship with Christ, that God is preparing me to be a man that can provide for and protect her, and that He is also preparing her to love me for everything I am, and everything I am not. I pray that I can be a leader for her and for my children. In order to lead, I must pray fervently. The two go hand in hand. As a man who (attempts at best) studies the Bible, I know that I will be called to be the head of my household, and a spiritual leader for my family. Now, let me clarify, that being the "head of the household" does not inherently mean that I believe I must make the most money, or that I am in some way more important than my wife. Not at all. A husband and wife are equal partners in a marriage, but I also recognize that as a man, it is my duty to provide for her, and to lead my household in the way that God calls me to do so. I must show the love of Christ to my wife and my children daily... Lord willing, that won't be a difficult task at all, because by the time that season of my life rolls around, God will have prepared me to be what they need, and He will have prepared them to love me even when I'm not. Leadership isn't just restricted to marriage and fatherhood though. I must be a leader to my fellow man.. which means I must live a life that convicts others to live a life that strives to be more Christ-like. I need to be strong in my convictions, and I need to seek counsel and accountability from those around me. In order to become a Godly man, I must lead a Godly life. That's often easier said, than done... so I'll add that to my prayers throughout the day.
A Godly man must be held accountable.
Accountability is crucial to our growth as men. Now, I get that some people think that accountability and being intentional about being relational can be... too emotional. However, if we aren't emotional, if we aren't transparent and vulnerable amongst men, how can we be those things in the presence of God? I struggled for a long time with accountability and intentional relationships with brothers in Christ. However, in the last year I have seen my accountability grow stronger, and the intent of my relationships grow deeper. If it were not for my relationships with my brothers, I would not be the man I am today. Accountability is a principal that is based on the life of Christ. Christ surrounded himself with 12 men, disciples. These 12 men were in constant community with Christ. They helped each other grow closer to Christ and to each other. What better accountability is there than to be held accountable by our very own Savior. In order to be truly convicted by the accountability that Christ holds us to, we have to be in communication with Christ and with others. It's simple logic. Surrounding ourselves with people that will help develop us into better men, better leaders, and better pray-ers (I realize that's not a word), we have to have a community of believers holding us accountable for the way we act.
A Godly man must find his self worth, in Christ alone.
Part of what inspired this post was a thought I had yesterday, that I proceeded to share with my network of social media outlets... the thought was this:
"At some point a man must realize his own self worth is measured by his obedience to Christ, not to the world.."
That's a truth that God spoke into my life yesterday in a huge way. I realized that His ways are so much better than my own, and in order to have the confidence that I am someone worth loving.. I have to realize that that is dependent on me obeying Christ's will for me life. A follow up to that thought, was this one:
"Man is not defined by his mistakes, his
missteps, or his sins, rather who Man is, is defined by his salvation in
Christ and the redemption he was offered by Christ's sacrifice for Man."
My obedience to Christ is how I measure my self worth. Who I am as a man, is defined by Christ's sacrifice to me. Christ gave his life so that I would be a child of God, forgiven of sin, and washed by the blood... because of that, I need to be obedient to Christ, because, well... it's the least I can do to thank Him for dying a torturous death in order that I may have life. This week, this month, this lifetime... I want to focus more on my self-worth, on my obedience to Christ... and I want to constantly be reminded, and remind others, that because of Christ's sacrifice for us, I am saved... and my salvation is what defines me, not my sin. I want to continue to grow into a Godly man-- so my focus needs to be on prayer, leadership, and finding my self-worth in Christ... Men, will you join me on this journey to become more Christ-like?
Grace and Peace
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