We were meant to begin life under the protection of our father's strength. In this security we were meant to freely explore and adventure through the early years of life. Make believe battles, surprises that speak to our hearts, and the affirmation that we are truly loved and deeply prized. That was the intent, but sadly it's far from reality for many.
"The crucial thing about the stage of Beloved Son - any of the stages, for that matter - is that it not be cut short, assaulted, unfinished, stolen in any way. We were designed to experience belovedness and boyhood, soak in it for years, learn lessons, have them written indelibly upon our hearts, and then pass through this stage to the next, carrying all its treasures with us. We were meant to move on with the help of our fathers, into the next stage of masculine initiation... Far more often than not this stage is stolen."
Many boys are forced to grow up too fast. I shared that scene from The Patriot in an earlier post. For some it happens when dad leaves, or checks out. We've talked a lot about wounds, and I'm sure we will talk a lot more about them, but sadly boyhood, the time that is supposed to be full of affirmation often brings the deepest wounds that we ever receive. It is because of the wounds given here that we deal with so many issues later in life.
"A boy's heart is wounded in many ways. He is wounded when he does not live in a world made safe by his father, when he is not free to explore and dare and simply be a boy, when he is forced to grow up too soon. He is wounded when he does have that world, but it ends with a sudden loss of innocence. And most especially, a boy is wounded to the core when he does not know that he is the Beloved Son."
Each of our stories is different; each of our wounds is unique. But all of them come from the same source. "Whatever the details of the story might be, the boy is robbed of his father and of the deep and fundamental blessing that he is the Beloved Son. It is the evil one's first and most devastating blow against the soul of a man." We were made to be dangerous and powerful men of God. We were created to be warriors of righteousness who stand firm against Satan. The enemy knows this, and so he works quickly to take us out before we can become a threat to him. He works to deliver a crippling blow when we are young so that we cannot grow into the men we need to be.
For me, reading this chapter was a bit difficult. Things I read really made me question a lot of things and the Father, and my position as His beloved son. The last few years have been rough and full of disappointments. A few weeks ago my wife and I were driving and I remember saying to her, "Part of me is just like, 'God haven't I trusted enough? Haven't I shown that I am fully reliant upon you?' and there is still more and more that keeps coming." For a while earlier this week I was mad at God, I felt like He had let me down, in some ways I still do, and this is exactly how the enemy wants me to feel. "This is the enemy's one central purpose - to separate us from the Father."
In James it says that we are to submit ourselves to God. The next sentence says that we are to resist the devil and he will flee. But he only flees when we are submitted to God. He flees because of God, not us. If he can separate us from the Father by convincing us that we don't matter to Him, then there is no one to make him flee. That's just the way he wants it, and so he works to wound us deeply and separate us from God.
But God loves us too much to leave us there. He knows we are wounded, and He knows that we need healing so our initiation can commence. "God will come like a loving Father, and take us close to his heart. He will also take us back to heal the wounds, finish things that didn't get finished. He will come for the boy, no matter how old he might now be, and make him his Beloved Son."
The chapters of this book end with a prayer, for this chapter I have two questions highlighted, "Do I believe it even now?" and "Do I believe you want good things for me?" Right now those are the two biggest things on my heart and mind. Do I really believe that I am God's Beloved Son? What makes me believe or not believe it? Do I believe that God wants good things for me? For the past year or so I have questioned that a lot. Numerous doors have closed and I have been left very much alone with questions no one can answer but God, and He seems to be very silent. This knowledge is crucial, because it is the foundational identity for the journey. Hopefully, along the way I come to know the truth of this deeply.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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