“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been.”
John 1:1-3.
A Serious Problem
Biblical manhood is something that we all aspire to achieve as Christian men. Most people in the world are ready to give a definition of what it means to be a man: age, abilities, job title, provision, gender identity, fill in the blank, etc. It’s when you throw in “biblical” that a lot of people would have a lost, confused, or even scornful look on their face. And that’s a problem.
A Solid Foundation
“Biblical” implies the Bible, God’s Holy word. You can’t have biblical manhood without the Bible. The Bible is God breathed. It was written by the hands of men, at God’s direction. It is not man’s opinion about what God or Jesus said. It is not an OP-ED. It is how He communicates with us today. It is the “north” of our compass as men.
If the Bible is not God’s word, then it is free to interpretation. If it is free to interpretation, then as Christian men we would be adrift in a storm with no anchor. We would have no foundation for our beliefs. We all know that without a solid foundation any structure will fall at the slightest resistance.
Left Me Troubled
Recently my wife sent me a YouTube video that was a civil discussion between “progressive” Christians and “conservative” Christians. While it was nice to see people disagree cordially, it left me troubled. Several topics were discussed but every disagreement could be boiled down to one thing: the Bible. Was it God’s infinite, divine wisdom or was it man’s opinion of what God said and open to interpretation as man sees fit?
Set Your Anchor
In our world today, “Christian” men and women are bending God’s word to fit their will, rather than bending their will to fit God’s word. Don’t let that be you as a man of God. Dig into the word of God. Pray over the word of God. Make a solid foundation. Make time in the word a regular part of your day so that when the winds of change in our world are blowing, you are anchored to a solid foundation and not blown away.
Be the Man Called You to Be
Without the concrete, absolute, divinely inspired word of God, we can’t be “biblical” men of God. That is our goal: to be the men God has called us to be as fathers, husbands, sons, workers, and friends.
Thad Hardin
MD5 Facilitator
Comments