To tell you the truth it has been a long couple weeks (busy with little rest) and tonight I feel like reading some of my book much more then I feel like typing this... However I also feel a type of burden to write about something that has been going in my mind lightly... I’ve been reading a couple of books (I rarely read one at a time) and by providence they have recently crossed paths on an issue that hits me, my situation, and many other guys out there right where we’re at. I hesitate to write this as it is quite candid and yet at the same time it is a start to what guys really need to grab a hold of and start living out. I write mainly thoughts from Wild at Heart: Chp. 3...
“All men die; few men ever really live...” ~Braveheart. Eldredge quotes this at the beginning of his chapter and quite fittingly so as that is what we are talking about here: How so many men/guys are living what might be termed as the “Low life”, not just that we have fallen to all kinds of sin (in various forms) but also that we have not grabbed a hold of the passion within us. As Eldredge says it, “The real life of the average man seems a universe away from the desires of his heart.”(pg. 41). We wonder why so few guys are found in church or church related places (both young and old); A good friend of mine (Crystal) recently wrote a blog about her disgust of the TV/Video choices of some guys she knows; There are many stories of Pastors and teachers who have fallen to all kinds of sin... Consider, “If a man does not find those things for which his heart is made, if he is never even invited to live for them from his deep heart, he will look for them in some other way.” (Eldredge, 44). My friends, I feel for the most part our Christian community does not invite a man to follow the desires and passions of a pure heart within us! At least not to the extent it should. In part, that is the reason guys watch movies they shouldn’t watch, and look at pictures they shouldn’t, and many other sinful things. They are in pursuit of the adventure the church lacks, the adventure God gave them a thirst for.
I believe this has a lot to do with the calling of God upon our lives. In the first place the calling God has for us to live a pure life, devoted to the Lord and stayed upon Him. In the second place the calling the Lord has upon our lives as individuals! You can argue till the cows come home on Predestination vs. Free Will but in this instance I really don’t care, the Lord most surely has a call on our lives individually. He asks you to serve Him were you are at right now, in your job, in your school, in your neighbourhood... are you striving after those things which God would have you do were your at right now? Are you being faithful with the “little” so that perhaps one day you can be trusted with “much”?
Too many churches/people have lost the “power of challenge” because it isn’t comfortable, and generally in N. America we don’t like the things which stand in the way of comfort. I’m telling you Christians need to read Scripture so as to search and convict (oh, dirty word) their hearts; Preachers need to preach by the power of the Holy Spirit and for change (oh, another dirty word); and you and I need to get off our butts and start running the race, fighting the fight, and striving for the prize and victory which the Lord designed us for. I’m talking about putting our energies toward the things of the Lord and the things which he has laid on our hearts!
“We need to help guys find adventure, break the boredom, and discipline their minds by actively replacing porn [or other unhealthy pursuits] with healthy pursuits. This becomes a greater adventure when we draw a connection between the need for adventure and the need to be spiritually connected with God.” ~Gerali, TeenageGuys. Pg. 89
“All men die; few men ever really live...” ~Braveheart. Eldredge quotes this at the beginning of his chapter and quite fittingly so as that is what we are talking about here: How so many men/guys are living what might be termed as the “Low life”, not just that we have fallen to all kinds of sin (in various forms) but also that we have not grabbed a hold of the passion within us. As Eldredge says it, “The real life of the average man seems a universe away from the desires of his heart.”(pg. 41). We wonder why so few guys are found in church or church related places (both young and old); A good friend of mine (Crystal) recently wrote a blog about her disgust of the TV/Video choices of some guys she knows; There are many stories of Pastors and teachers who have fallen to all kinds of sin... Consider, “If a man does not find those things for which his heart is made, if he is never even invited to live for them from his deep heart, he will look for them in some other way.” (Eldredge, 44). My friends, I feel for the most part our Christian community does not invite a man to follow the desires and passions of a pure heart within us! At least not to the extent it should. In part, that is the reason guys watch movies they shouldn’t watch, and look at pictures they shouldn’t, and many other sinful things. They are in pursuit of the adventure the church lacks, the adventure God gave them a thirst for.
I believe this has a lot to do with the calling of God upon our lives. In the first place the calling God has for us to live a pure life, devoted to the Lord and stayed upon Him. In the second place the calling the Lord has upon our lives as individuals! You can argue till the cows come home on Predestination vs. Free Will but in this instance I really don’t care, the Lord most surely has a call on our lives individually. He asks you to serve Him were you are at right now, in your job, in your school, in your neighbourhood... are you striving after those things which God would have you do were your at right now? Are you being faithful with the “little” so that perhaps one day you can be trusted with “much”?
Too many churches/people have lost the “power of challenge” because it isn’t comfortable, and generally in N. America we don’t like the things which stand in the way of comfort. I’m telling you Christians need to read Scripture so as to search and convict (oh, dirty word) their hearts; Preachers need to preach by the power of the Holy Spirit and for change (oh, another dirty word); and you and I need to get off our butts and start running the race, fighting the fight, and striving for the prize and victory which the Lord designed us for. I’m talking about putting our energies toward the things of the Lord and the things which he has laid on our hearts!“We need to help guys find adventure, break the boredom, and discipline their minds by actively replacing porn [or other unhealthy pursuits] with healthy pursuits. This becomes a greater adventure when we draw a connection between the need for adventure and the need to be spiritually connected with God.” ~Gerali, TeenageGuys. Pg. 89
2 comments:
Thank you for your candid remarks. I appreciate that you can say, with elloquence, what others dare not to attempt tackling. I enjoyed reading "Wild at Heart" too. There is definately adventure and challenge and life to live in the godly pursuit of the Lord, though often missed or neglected in some church circles. I also wanted to clarify that the blog entry that you refered to was not necessarily about the disgust that i have for sketchy movie choices but the long comming and lasting effect of such choices which is the lose of the sared beauty and respect that a man should have for a woman. For the men out there who struggle in this seemingly endless battle, i pray for your courage and strength. Do not loose heart and do not give up; i beleive that the Lord will carry you on to victory. I did not mean to discourage you or to press disgust and distain on you. I want you to regain that sacred beauty that was misplaced. I desire you to be victoriuos. Press on!
My teacher at Bible School (I forget which one) told us one day that the church lacked men because people had taken the challenge out of the Gospel and made everything as easy and painless as possible.
Did you boys camping trip satisfy some of that "thirst for action adventure?
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