"Freedom is useless if we don't exercise it as characters making choices... Few things are as encouraging as the realization that things can be different and that we have a role in making them so." We were made to live free. In the beginning God created man and gave him freedom to live and explore the world. "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.' Then God said, 'Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you;'" (Genesis 1.26-29).
That was what we were created for, live, work, explore, and enjoy all of creation. It sounds perfect because it was. But then the enemy launched his assault. He saw an opportunity and took advantage of it, and at that moment everything changed. There was now a curse on everything. Our strength had been sabotaged, the beauty had been imprisoned, and everything was now set against us. But God, the creator, is also the redeemer. He began preparing for D-Day, and began to work to bring His creation back to what He created it to be.
Jesus came, and He died on the cross so that we could be free. "It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery" (Galatians 5.1). We have been granted freedom from sin so that we can reclaim our masculine heart of strength. And if we do not embark upon this journey then our freedom is wasted. But this journey is simply the beginning. It is one we all must take, but it is not the end. We have freedom, and as we reclaim our hearts we take upon ourselves a God given role to join Him in His restorative work.
That is what we were made to do, Men of God is who we were create to be. But until we have gotten there we are stuck. "God will never reveal more truth about himself until you have obeyed what you know already." You know that you were made for more than existence. You know that you were made for life; a life of battle, adventure, and a rescued beauty. But none of this is possible until our strength has been recovered. And once it has been we begin to see life as it was meant to lived. And once we taste it, we will settle for nothing less than what we were made for.
At the very beginning of the book we read these words, "I know. I almost want to apologize. Dear Lord - do we really need another book for men? Nope. We need something else. We need permission. Permission to be what we are - men made in God's image." And here at the end of the final chapter we are given just that.
"Now, reader, it is your turn to write - venture forth with God. Remember, don't ask yourself what the world needs... What is the life you want to live? What is God calling you to through the deep desires of your heart and the move of his Spirit in you? The next chapter is yours to write."
Go on with God to the life He created you to live. Take risks and worship deeply. Embrace the role that is yours to play, and live fully alive. You, Man of God, fight the good fight of faith, finish the course, receive the crown, and glorify God.
"Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
To God alone be the Glory!
Strength and Honor
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