The topic was just to get you here. I know. Pssshhh. Still figuring it out myself. I went for a talk yesterday that's part of a men's gathering at Parklands Baptist Church this week. Simon Mbevi, a pastor who is passionate about recovering a biblical masculinity delivered the talk that got me thinking about what it is to be a man, in light of my own journey.
"To be responsible" is shorthand for what it means to be a man. Meanwhile, the fisi nation is growing at a rate faster than newly-borns can say daddy. Something's missing. Apart from the father issues that many of us have had to endure, men remain passive because of their fears and failures. I can relate. Of course the macho image so reminiscent of our patriarchal culture and the pompous promiscuity that modern culture proposes are problematic. The result is wounded men who have no outlets to open up, to be real, to be whole.
Perhaps I should find another place where "men" and "open up" can go together. It is at best, a closed case. With time, as I have looked inside I have learnt that there is a place where I can find healing for my brokenness. I find that I can only be real when I have a safe environment. This week I made a decision that has shown me the power of other men in the journey of being authentic and whole - Yet another dagger on my proud and selfish heart. For me, as I look at the brokenness inside, I am welcomed to the body that has been broken for me in Jesus Christ. When I sometimes forget my identity, I am reminded of the stamp of the Father's love that is in my heart. Love that has come at great cost. I realize that to be Christlike is to be a real, authentic and activated man. Christlikeness = Manliness.
"To be responsible" is shorthand for what it means to be a man. Meanwhile, the fisi nation is growing at a rate faster than newly-borns can say daddy. Something's missing. Apart from the father issues that many of us have had to endure, men remain passive because of their fears and failures. I can relate. Of course the macho image so reminiscent of our patriarchal culture and the pompous promiscuity that modern culture proposes are problematic. The result is wounded men who have no outlets to open up, to be real, to be whole.
Perhaps I should find another place where "men" and "open up" can go together. It is at best, a closed case. With time, as I have looked inside I have learnt that there is a place where I can find healing for my brokenness. I find that I can only be real when I have a safe environment. This week I made a decision that has shown me the power of other men in the journey of being authentic and whole - Yet another dagger on my proud and selfish heart. For me, as I look at the brokenness inside, I am welcomed to the body that has been broken for me in Jesus Christ. When I sometimes forget my identity, I am reminded of the stamp of the Father's love that is in my heart. Love that has come at great cost. I realize that to be Christlike is to be a real, authentic and activated man. Christlikeness = Manliness.
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