"You are prized. You are my delight. (This is the theme our journey is also meant to begin upon, and a truth you will need to hear and experience all the days of your life. You are God's Beloved Son.)... the best thing for a man who wants to find himself 'at any given age is to find a story that somehow tells him about himself.' For we are trying to make a difficult and crucial shift, from our all-too-easily-acquired fatherlessness, to the orientation that our lives also are now quests, journeys of masculine initiation."
We must be intentional if we are to undertake this journey. This isn't something that will happen unless we seek it. And as we pursue it, we are going to face fierce opposition. That is why we must begin, and relentlessly hold on to the truth of our identity as God's Beloved Sons.
"Whenever we feel desolate, or abandoned, or simply feel that the weight of the world is once again on our shoulders, it's probably because we've come to doubt God's heart toward us. Best at this point to return to the truth: you are his Beloved Son. That's our bedrock... the enemy is a thief, and you must understand - if you have not already noticed this - his greatest target is simply your joy. That continues to catch me off guard. I always figured his attacks would make most sense around some major evangelistic campaign, mission trip, or breakthrough for the church. Nope. What I've come to see is that the joy and life God wants to bring us are the things most fiercely opposed."
I've felt this a lot over the past year or so. My joy has been attacked, and even stolen at times. I've come to doubt so much, feel that so much was on me, and that God didn't care at all. If the enemy can get us here, then he doesn't have anything else to worry about. What evangelistic campaign is successful when the leaders are gloomy? What mission trip goes well there is bitterness in the hearts of the people going? What breakthrough can a melancholy church have? Without joy, nothing good is going to happen, and that is why the enemy focuses there.
Our journey begins as we learn who we are, God's Beloved Sons. And our journey must begin there because without that there can be no determination to press through. There can be no intentionality without this assurance. This is what Satan is after because without it we won't press on in our journey. We can not let that happen brothers. The phalanx cannot allow a single weak spot, otherwise it all falls apart.
"This is the flip side of forgetting we are Beloved Sons, this ploy of the enemy to steal the Father's gifts from us and so bring us back to the belief we are fundamentally fatherless. You'll want to keep this in mind as you pursue your own masculine quest, your healing and strength, and the journey of your sons or the men you will guide. Heads up, my brothers. It will be opposed, because it will be among your greatest joys. What usually happens at this point - the point when things turn sour, or become suddenly difficult - is that a man just gives up, surrendering the trip, or the relationship. or the dream. Let the Warrior rise in you. It's worth fighting for."
If this journey was easy, we wouldn't have a shortage of men in the world today. This is not for the weak or the lazy. This journey is for men, determined and courageous men. On this journey we will fight our most difficult, and most crucial battles. But if we persevere we will be who we were created to be. And we must remember that this journey is not a solitary one. The phalanx doesn't work with one shield.
"There is just no substitute for time spent together. How else will the bonding take place? This is true of a father and a son, true for the fellowship of men, true for a man and his Father God. Something happens for the masculine soul in the presence of the masculine that happens nowhere else." We cannot do this on our own. We cannot do this without other men. We need our brothers to fight side by side with us. Recently I've seen just how much I need this, and just how difficult it is to have. Life is busy and demanding, and it really doesn't slow down. If this is going to happen, it isn't going to be by accident. We must be intentional about man time. We must guard it.
We cannot do this without God. He is where we find our identity. He is our source of joy. "Jesus enjoyed a relationship with his Father that we crave. Not a stained glass churchy sort of thing, but masculine oneness. They were close, those two, so close that they were One. We were made for the very same thing, and our lives just aren't right until we have it... Jesus want's us to enjoy oneness with the Father... That's what we need, however wonderful church unity might be. We need oneness with the Father... This is the healing of the masculine soul. This is masculine maturity - "mature in this oneness." To be fathered by the Father, loved by the Father as he loved Jesus, to in fact become one in heart and mind with him and with his Son. Until then, we are fatherless, and lost."
This is what we were made for. As I read this morning my mind thought of a scene from Troy. Achilles, the greatest Greek hero, is leading his ship to the beach to begin the attack. He speaks to his men before they land and tells them, "Take it! It's yours!" They storm the beach, and take it. This journey we are on leads us to who we truly are. You are a Man of God, go get it!
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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