Yesterday, Brandon met me for lunch at work. I gave him a quick tour of my office and lab.
During the lunch conversation, I asked Brandon about his five day personal sabbatical. He was hiking in isolation, borderline survival-style. Brandon has previously encouraged me to take a personal sabbatical, so he challenged me to think more about it. He suggested camping. I don't have a problem with being outdoors, but I don't think I have as much of an affinity for it as he does. I asked Brandi about it last night, and she thinks I would more enjoy a solitary cabin.
Brandon also asked me about what it means to be a man and if I perceive myself to be a man. I responded to the first with the four principles from The Quest for Authentic Manhood course that I took in Austin. I responded to the second question with less confidence. Some days, yes, other days, no. He asked me if I consider my dad to be a man, and I have no doubt about that.
He also asked me about what it would look like for us to have masculine fellowship in a church context. How can we promote godly masculinity? He brought up Matt 5:5, which is often translated as, "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.". However, the Greek word tranlsated as "meek" is "πραεῖς", which means "strong AND self-controlled" or "demonstrating power without undue harshness." It is like a perfectly trained war-horse or warrior. Diplomacy first, no fear in the face of battle, all strength and skill readied and poised to be dispensed upon command.
This morning, I remembered one of the Day of the Lord podcast episodes about Jesus being a warrior. In one sense, Jesus already brought the Day of the Lord. Jesus battled sin and death, and He is the champion warrior. That is, Jesus fought as a champion warrior on behalf of everyone that He represented, so that His victory is on behalf of His entire kingdom. Therefore, we are all victors with Christ, by extension. And yet, we wait for the ultimate Day of the Lord when justice will be completely resolved on all accounts, and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire. Thus, we are warriors in the now and the not yet. We continue to advance the proclamation of the victory of the kingdom of Jesus. And so now we are warriors proving His victory through the fruit of the Spirit and signs and wonders - tangible demonstrations of the delegated authority and power of Jesus through the Holy Spirit. Our battle is not against flesh and blood.
Father, thank you for the privilege of being your son. I want to walk in sonship. Continue to teach me what it means to be a man. Jesus, thank you for your example of what it looks like to be demonstrating power without undue harshness. Holy Spirit, thank you for giving me Jesus's authority and power to destroy the works of the devil, to restore people to wholeness, and to advance the Kingdom of Christ. Teach me today to be a better warrior. I love you, and I pray in the name of Jesus.
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