"The deepest desire of our heats is for union with God. God created us for union with himself: This is the original purpose of our lives." John uses this quote from Brennan Manning at the beginning of this chapter. We've all heard the cliches that have tried to communicate this message, but this is the deepest truth of our existence. Our wound is caused when someone presents a false and corrupted image of God to us. Our wound is deepened when we try to fix it ourselves apart from God. And true healing only comes when we find this unity with God.
We crave a soul-to-soul oneness with God, and we were made for this, "ours was meant to be a desperately dependent existence." We were made for unity with God, John points out Jesus saying He is the vine and we are the branches, and apart from Him we can do nothing. Gardening is a hobby of mine, and the stem, that central beam of a plant, is where every branch gets its source of life. Once it falls off or is pruned it withers and dies. We were made to be connected to God, and there is no shame in needing Him, there is no shame in being completely dependent upon Him. Look to the left of the page and you'll see the picture of a man on his knees with a hand raised to heaven. True strength is found in surrender to the Lord of Lords.
Culture has painted to picture of a real man to be a loaner who needs no one. John mentions James Bond and John Wayne. Personally neither one of them does much for me, so I'll use the example of someone who does, Batman. I love Batman, as most men do. He's got the car, the gadgets, the suit, the power and intimidation that men desire. I love Batman because he is the only logically possible hero in the comic universe. If someone were to give me a few billion dollars I would seriously consider getting a Kevlar/titanium suit, become a karate master, and begin fighting crime at night. But as awesome as Batman is, he has issues (and if my brother-in-law, a Marvel/Iron Man fan, ever reads this I'll never hear the end of it).
Batman is a loaner with an unhealed wound. We know the story, parents shot in front of him when he was little, turns his anger into fuel for vengeance, and while he does a good thing by taking out criminals, he lives a lonely life with an unhealed wound. He wears a mask to hide who he really is. He goes it alone and so has to depend on gadgets and skill in order to survive. He wears armor to protect himself. He needs no one, and drives those who care about him away. And this is who we idolize. No one would ever say Batman wasn't a real man, but if we really look at him we have to say he's got a big wound that hasn't healed and because of that he must go it alone.
And fortunately Batman is not the founder of our faith. Instead we have a real man to look to, one who has demonstrated what a life of complete dependence to God looks like, and not only that, but proudly displays it for all to see. Jesus, without question the strongest and most manly man who ever walked the earth, lived in desperate dependence upon His Father. Read what He says in John about His unity with the Father. Look at how He spends His spare time. Listen to how He teaches. As Jesus said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner" (John 5.19).
If we want to be men, then we must follow the example of Christ. After all our purpose in life is to become Christlike, and as we journey towards Christlikeness we are initiated into manhood. The key to being like Christ is unity with God, and in this surrender we find strength. "The true essence of strength is passed to us from God through our union with him." The point is for us to be Men of God, we must be united to Him in order for this to happen.
As we get closer to God we can take off the utility belt, remove the mask, and shed the armor we've donned as we've attempted to go it alone, and as we do this the healing of our wounds can begin. "It is no shame that you need healing; it is no shame to look to another for strength; it is no shame that you feel young and afraid inside. It's not your fault."
For our wounds to be healed we must draw near to the source of life. As I wrote that my mind went to Psalm 1, "How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers" (Verses 1-3). We must not listen to the wicked, sinners, or scoffers. These posers have one goal in mind, to convince us to keep the front up, trying to convince us that what is underneath is not good enough and undesirable.
But when we delight in the commands and teachings of God we have a union with Him that our souls desire above all else. We are connected to Him in an unshakable way, and have a constant source of life. We bear fruit and never wither, we prosper because we constantly grow closer to God, even in trials and failures, we grow closer to God because we are intimately united with the Father.
"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3.20-21
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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