Time to get back to this book. Wild at Heart by John Eldredge
Chapter 3: The Question that Haunts Every Man
The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. (Albert Schweitzer)
John reminisces about seeing a powerful lion in a zoo with his children and makes the comment, After years of living in a cage, a lion no longer even believes it is a lion...and a man no longer believes he is a man.
If a man does not find those things for which his heart is made, if he is never even invited to live for them from his deep heart, he will look for them in some other way.
These things refer back to the battle to fight, the adventure to live and the beauty to rescue which are manifested in so many ways in real life. I'm sure no man wants to live a boring life, so it is important for the women, friends or family (depending on stage of life) to help him discover these things. An 8-5 job takes most of the day, for at least 5 days each week. How can all these things occur with the time that's left over?
Sometimes helping a man (or one becoming a man) what God has placed in front of them already. A battle to fight could be pursuing someone to teach them the basics of our faith. Or figuring out how to properly educate our children so that they leave the home well-taught and standing firm in their faith. Or actually building up physical strength by learning self-defense, shooting guns on a range or hunting in order to be able to protect the family, literally. Some men participate in the military or in the military reserves.
An adventure to live could be the adventure of raising children and looking at it as such. The world is totally new to children and seeing it through their eyes, it becomes new to us again. A "dangerous" type of outing--rock climbing, learning to scuba dive (as my husband and older son did last year together), exploring a place in your state or in the country where you've never been before, or learning a challenging skill such as woodworking.
A beauty to rescue generally refers to the women, sisters, mothers, wives, daughters in a man's life, protecting and caring for them when they are in distress. Another concept would be to remember that The Church is considered the Bride of Christ and is in definite need of strong men to rescue it in these times.
This chapter ends with the haunting question: Am I really a man? Have I got what it takes...when it counts?
This is where women can be irreplaceable in the lives of the men we know and love. The Bible refers to a wife as a "help-meet" which is only used in scripture elsewhere to refer to the Holy Spirit sent from God to help believers. We can help our men be the men that God created them to be by encouraging them and steering them in the directions for these basic needs in their lives. Female teachers and friends can help little boys/teens by encouraging them as well when you recognize a gift or skill that they may not see or an area of interest where it appears they may truly blossom.
Have faith in the men in your life. Show them respect. I'm noticing that as boys get older, usually around age 12-15, their need for this begins to show itself as well. We need to be discerning as to what would encourage them best. Pray for godly wisdom.
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