Be a Man

As I am in the last 100 days of my engagement before I am finally able to marry the woman who I am truly blessed to not only have as my fiancée and soon to be wife but also as my best friend, I come to a time when I reflect on who I am as a Man in Christ and a Man of God. A verse that has been placed into my life a while back, but now has resurfaced is 1 Corinthians 16:13:

“Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.” ( 1 Corithians 16:13 ESV)

This passage has hit home with me, for I know that it is not only important but misconstrued among men in churches.

When we are called to be watchful, we are given an important job as watchmen. Watchmen were to look out for danger. If danger came, they were to warn the community and be the first line of defence. They were to lay their lives on the line so that the community were to have a few more minutes to prepare. Not only did watchmen look out for danger, but they recognized the arrival of friends. When those who were allies would come into the kingdom, the watchmen opened the gates and welcomed the friends in with open arms. As men, we are to be the watchmen of our families and churches. We are to recognize danger so that we may protect our families, and we are to recognize friends and treat them as family. Many men today deal with the issue of not knowing which is which. We deem friends as enemies and enemies as friends. When we realize that we are terrible at discerning the two, we close off our family from the world for protection. A kingdom with no flow of people to trade or interact will surely die, and a family may do the same. We need to train ourselves to be watchmen in the highest manner possible so that our family will thrive.

We are to act like men. This part of the passage is normally used against men who love to have fun. They are called childish, but from what I have come to realize is a man is not someone who has no fun, but is someone who knows when the fun needs to stop. I have been told that video games, having fun with kids, acting goofy, all the things that I do on a regular basis will have to end when I get married, or when I have kids. That the importance of dominance was something that I should enforce in my family, and then I looked at this man’s family. I realized that the kids were not willing to talk to him about the deep stuff they always went to mom. I saw the discipline issues come out of the family. I took the words and saw how they played out, and I come to realize that dominance doesn’t build healthy homes, it builds dictatorships. As men, we are to know when the foot needs to hit the pavement, however know when fun is important as well.

We are to be strong. This is not saying that we have to lift weights constantly, or that we need to take protein supplements. Being strong is not only a physical aspect, but strength is shown throughout all levels of a man. I have seen men who although in pain, during the season of turmoil step up and take most of the load until others are able to carry the weight again. They are strong enough to help others train to be strong so that they can take on the weight they need to carry. We need to be strong in our faith as well. We need to be the leader and take our families to church. We need to become strong in so that we can fulfill the rest of what God calls us to be.

We need to stand firm. I took this part out-of-order for the simple reason that I have found this to be the most difficult so far in my life. Trials and temptations have already reared their ugly heads in my life. When it comes to be a man, we need to know that these are going to happen. We need to know that sometimes God calls us to go one way, but the person closest to us may not agree. We need to realize that sometimes the money isn’t in the bank, but God calls us to give back to him anyways. When it comes to the Gospel, we need to not be flexible. We are to Stand Firm no matter how the waves crash against us for the rock we are built on is stronger than the ocean. If God can part the sea for the Hebrews to walk through, if God can calm the storm with his hand, then nothing can come against us that God is not able to fight back.

When we are called to do all these things in this verse, we need to realize that the only way we can do these things is by knowing Christ. If we are not founded in the knowledge of Jesus Christ and then try to take on the world, we as men will fail miserably. If you are trying to raise a family without Christ being at the center of it, then know that it will be an extremely rough ride. Know that if Christ is not the center of your relationship that it will fail. Everything starts with Christ, and everything ends with Christ. Maybe you should try it.

 

 

I do not own rights to the above picture. Image taken from wearviral.com