Becoming a Real Man

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
(1 Corinthians 13:11 NIV)

There comes a time, when every human male comes to a crossroads in his life, and will have to make a fateful decision that will determine how he lives the rest of his life in the future.

I am not talking here about marriage, although that is part of it.

I am talking about the decision of becoming a real man.

Again, just to set the record straight, I am not talking about men who have a problem with their gender, although this too is related.

What I am talking about here, is the conscious decision that a male adolescent makes, to take full responsibility for his manhood.

And just in case you brush me aside and tell me that I’m dealing with something too big for me to handle, I am confident of my authority on the subject matter, because I am speaking from personal experience.

I know it, because I myself have made the conscious decision to be a man.

An explanation is in order, and I will make a simple one that I hope that my contemporary male readers can easily relate to.

About three years ago, I was very impressed with the movie “300”. I thought that it was everything that a young, testosterone-laden human male of the twenty-first century could want in a movie: a group of larger-than-life men, with larger-than-life physiques, doing battle with a larger-than-life enemy.

Violence? Check. Sex? Check. Super slo-mo action cutscenes? Check. Dark brooding angry Caucasian hero ready to mercilessly decapitate faceless non-caucasian henchmen? Oh yeah.

No doubt about it, this was my kind of movie.

I lapped it all up at the theatre when my wife and I went on a date to watch it. And a few months later, I decided that it deserved to be part of my Blu-ray collection. It was just that good, I thought to myself.

This was what a real man was all about, I thought. I wanted to be that big, angry Spartan with a chiselled body, screaming angry invectives, and looking ridiculously good whether it be during a steamy sex scene or in blood-soaked hand-to-hand combat.

Yeah, I wanted to be that kind of man.

Until I came to know Jesus Christ, and allowed Him to show me what a real man was all about.

Before you start shaking your head and tell yourself: “here’s another one of those fellows who got brainwashed by a fanatical evangelist,” let me just tell you this.

It is true that Jesus coming into my life was not my decision. But allowing Him to change my life was.

And the moment I made that decision, a veil was lifted from my eyes and I saw the truth.

I saw that many of the things that my culture is telling me is a lie. And that one of those things was what a real man should be like.

As soon as I realized that, I made the conscious decision to start becoming a real man.

And slowly but surely, Jesus Christ is helping me become that man.

I know I’ve made progress because this year, I saw and appreciated a real man’s movie.

Does it have violence? A bit. Does it have sex? None. Do the heroes have chiselled bodies? Couldn’t really tell since they were all wearing clothes most of the time.

So what’s there to see in this movie?

Real men.

The movie’s title is “Courageous”.

And in my mind, it blows “300” completely out of the water.

If you honestly and truly want to know what a real man looks like, then you owe it to yourself to see this movie.

This is not some shameless plug or paid advert on my part. I make this recommendation freely and voluntarily.

And please, if you do decide to see it, please help the producers of the movie by buying a legitimate copy.

Because this too is part of being a real man.

I pray, that those of you who read this will likewise come to make the decision that I made, and ask the Creator to become the real men that we were meant to be in this life.

For humanity is threatened by an enemy far more intimidating and relentless than any that Hollywood could conjure up.

We are told that many men have died having lost in the battle, and that many more will.

But we are also told, that if you will allow the One True King to lead you, nothing less than a glorious victory is granted to those who will have the courage, determination and endurance to see the battle to its end.

So rise up men of God. His Kingdom needs you.

Soli Deo Gloria!

This is My command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
(Joshua 1:9 NLT)

All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

(Matthew 10:22 NIV)

The Passion

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. - (Isaiah 53:3-5 NIV)

The Holy Week in the Philippines is an occasion to be joyous. It is a weeklong vacation spent with family and friends and a welcome break from the daily grind of work and responsibility.

But like that one other great Christian holiday, the spirit of the Holy Week has become somewhat lost in the excitement for a holiday spent in the cool highlands or warm summer beaches of the country.

As I took my daily commute this morning, I was reminded of how full of sorrow this world of ours is.

Sure there is the daily experience of seeing the less fortunate of our countrymen, both young and old, darkened by the grime and soot of the metropolis as they go about their business of begging for alms.

Sure, there is the seemingly endless news about how disaster after disaster seems to come upon our people, what with the storms, floods, and landslides hitting various parts of our country on a regular basis.

Sure there is the rampant crime, the petty thefts, the daring robberies, the unsolved murders, the allegations of corruption, and all sorts of heinousness that man is capable of inflicting on his fellow man.

Sure there are the wars, and the threat of wars, of civil unrest, of rockets being fired, of territory being fought for, and the cleverly disguised and not-so-cleverly-disguised barbs thrown by the world’s most wealthy and influential against each other, even as the least and impoverished continue to outnumber them in an ever increasing ratio.

Humanity it seems, has for too long lived under the shadow of these things that we have become almost desensitized to them.

After all, a man who loses his sight will eventually get used to the darkness. Given enough time, he might even forget what it means to see.

And that is the most sorrowful thing of all.

That is what I saw on the faces of my countrymen this morning, on the eve of the Holy Week holiday.  I did not see faces full of joy and hope. I see faces of resignation.

And why should not they be resigned? Life could be so much better. Humanity could be so much better. But here we all are, forced to live off the unwanted dregs of a life and humanity that has somehow gone terribly wrong.

We have been living this way for so long that it is likely that most of us have already forgotten what a better life and a better humanity SHOULD look like.

Oh, but we do get glimmers of it once in a while.

Every time we react with angry indignation at how we’ve been mistreated and our rights trampled, that is actually a longing for the ideal. It is the deep seated instinct for light that even the most jaded blind person has within him.

But even that is not enough to show us that we were meant to live as creatures of sight and light.

Without something real and tangible representing the ideal, then we can only have muddled and confused ideas of what it looks like. Not unlike the blind who can only make out bits and pieces out of a hazy vision.

And that my friends, is what the message of the Cross of Christ is all about.

It is about giving sight to the blind. It is about light being brought to those in darkness. It is about slaves being given their freedom. It is about love given to the unlovable.

It is about a God who took all of our pain, all of our suffering, all of our indignities and shame. He took the worst that humanity has to offer in order to redeem what was once considered lost.

All of this is told by the Cross of Christ. And it would be foolish of me to try and even put into words the passion by which He fought for our freedom at great cost to Himself.

Few of us can bear shame. Fewer can bear pain and suffering. And even fewer still will bear death. A few might bear them for the sake of a loved one. None will bear them for the sake of the evil and unrighteous.

Christ bore them all for all the evil and unrighteous.  And that means all of us.

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

- (Romans 3:23 NIV)

This is why we celebrate the Holy Week. This is why we should be joyful, not just in the next few days, but all of the days of our lives.

For if we celebrate Christmas for the birth of the Savior, we celebrate the Holy Week for His very act of Salvation.

So whether we go to the highlands or beaches, or stay home, or wherever we may be this week, let us be joyful and happy and celebrate the life that He purchased for us. Let us remember with passion that the reason why we live is because of Him alone.

 “…the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.”

- (Psalms 118:23 NIV)

All Honor and Glory therefore be to His name.

Soli Deo Gloria!