TO BE A MAN
This has got to be a very important issue to all people - especially males. What does it mean to be a man? Is it an attitude or achievement or lifestyle or what? Whatever it is, it churns deep in the heart or soul & comes out in various forms of I AM:
1. “I am tough & strong.” At 6' and 225 lbs. of muscle & coordination I am a man. (Not me-171 lb. & wobbly.)
2. “I am smart.” Well, these degree titles from well-known universities prove it. I am a man.
3. “I am rich & successful.” Too many people want to be in this crowd & many who are say in their hearts “I am a man.” nearly all play the “I AM” game.
4. “I am an American serviceman” (Army, Navy, Marine, Air Force, etc.) The rest of you wouldn’t have this good country or your freedom and you might not be speaking English without us. (And it's true) They think they are classic MEN.
5. “I AM A Harley Davidson biker.” We know what it means to be a man. Don’t mess with us...
6. In the southwest of the U.S. we have the cowboy thing where young men ride mad 2,000-pound bulls and wild horses at rodeos to prove manhood.
This list could go on and on and it would get really strange and bizarre if we looked at other nationalities’ concepts of manhood. Like Eastern Africa or Madagascar or India. And I believe God himself looks down on all these altercations with varying degrees of interest, admiration, sympathy, bewilderment, and/or sometimes disgust.
Now what would God’s concept of manhood be? One could look at male Bible characters and get some ideas. Samson, Job, Moses, Elijah, David the shepherd and others. These all were different characters, but they all had FAITH which they mixed with action. Stately Isaiah “cut through the chase” when he wrote God’s thinking on the “man” subject, “...this is the man to whom I will look, he that is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.” Isaiah 66:2 Well there in a nutshell - humble, contrite and respecting God’s word, is what He wants in manhood. Jesus can be seen as the best qualities of all Bible characters that came before him. He can be followed through the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) to see the most aggressive living example of manhood & character. Jesus had it all. He was strong, smart, successful if not rich, service oriented, had manly bearing, & was very scripture minded. He died humbly & bravely for his cause. Jesus was a man and as the God-man of all ages he can truly say “I AM” THE MAN. And it is a gross mistake to think that Jesus Christ is effeminate or a hippie type “person.” Jesus is deity and He invented male/female gender. (Genesis 1:26-27)
The writer of this had a personal glimpse of “the man” in 1977 in a spiritual dream. See Link #7 “I Saw The King.” I believe for sure if the J.C. that I saw walked into a H. D. motorcycle club, they would all get real quiet. His “manly” bearing & scars & presence would overwhelm them ALL. I can imagine him walking to the beer keg & turning it into holy water. At His invitation 90% of the bikers would want to follow Christ & be baptized by Him right there. And if he spoke one word His majestic VOICE would win the other 10%. (Psalm 29:3-9)
"What is man, that thou dost make so much of him, and that thou dost set thy mind upon him, dost visit him every morning and test him every moment?" Job 7:17-18 Our human concepts of manhood may be OK but God’s concept should also be considered. Choose Jesus He is alive - and be a follower of THE MAN. See John 14:6, Revelation 3:20
Many other Titles: www.gospelnotes.org * * F. J. Stone * *
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