We Desperately Need A Few Good Men...

My engagement period has been a crash course on manhood.  I have set aside theological studies to sit at the feet and learn from the Lord Himself.  Yet, studying Christ is never without His refining fire.  The process of putting to death the single man and preparing for a covenant life is one that comes with much pain if we are honest men.  We know the deep indecision we face when staring down the cold barrel of commitment   It threatens the very fabric of our selfish male ego.  The world as we once knew it is about to change.  Our eyes thrash about as we seek to bring them under the control of that which is honorable to our wives.  We spend restless evenings battling the images that have burned themselves into our minds over years of lustfully analyzing countless female bodies.  If we are honest men, we know that the purification period of a husband is a painful detox of the most vile of poisons.  It takes a Christ-groomed man that seeks to honor his wife in covenant to withstand such fire.

Probably the most painful part of this process is the purification of one's motives.  The Lord has made clear that you cannot pray for purity and then leave it up to your passions.  This is a lesson in grace that I have learned over the past year.  Despite our best intentions as Christians if we are not engaged in a war with our flesh we will have capitulated to it's lusts.  As men, we ought to be aware of our God given ability to lead.  Yet that ability, however, when yielded to our flesh can lead our wives to compromise their purity.  The Christ-groomed man must understand his ability to not only lead himself to compromise, but also his wife to be.

What is compromise?  Let's be specific.  Any form of sexuality that forces a premature consummation of marriage.  Yes, a true man will recognize his weakness and a true warrior will endeavor to guard any breaches in his defenses.  I have learned by perilous enemy attacks to repair any breaches with the utmost priority, yet that does not mean that I have been victorious in all of my battles.

The Lord, however, is gracious.  He has bandaged my wounds.  He has pulled me off of the battlefield when I have become fatigued.  He has nursed my morale back to fighting strength and has set me once again against my enemies.  Men, you must be aware of your weaknesses and even more aware of the gracious leadership of your Commander.  He directs us into battle.  We will be tempted to abdicate and forsake the lines as cowards, but I urge you to stand.  When you fall, stand once more.  

War's are not always won by the strongest army.  They are won by persistence.  The Allies saw great defeats at the hands of the Germans in World War I, but despite their losses they never surrendered and through their weakness they persevered and achieved the victory.  The same can be said for the Union in the Civil War.  The Confederacy had better Generals, better organization, and a better record, but the Union never quit.  They lost the battles, but when they fell, they stood once more and in their persistence they choked the enemy of their strength and reigned victorious.

Men, you must stand as defenders of femininity   You must put yourself through the Refiner's fire and prepare yourselves to be the husbands that God has ordained you to be.  There is no room for defeat as you have been given the victory.  Although the process is painful and your Old Man will wrestle with you nightly.  You will begin to see a change in the quality of man you are becoming.  Like Christ, you will become self sacrificing and servant hearted.  You will be the first to suffer and the strongest when you are weakest.  You will be meek and lowly, yet high and exalted.  You will love your wife as Christ loved the Church and you will give yourself for her.  You will be made men.  Do not buy the counterfeit manhood that we have been brought up to believe.  You will change the world if you know how to sit at the feet of your Savior.