Be strong and be a man, and keep your obligation to the Lord your God to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commands, ordinances, and decrees. (1 Kings 2:2-3)
David’s words have application for both men and women, but considering that in this story, one man (David) was telling another man (Solomon) to be a man, permit me to speak to the men today.
The idea of what masculinity is has gradually become more and more blurry in modern society. But in the past, people often associated masculinity with strength and courage. That was, in fact, the case in David’s day.
But masculinity goes beyond mere strength and courage.
A real man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God. And sometimes, it takes real strength and courage to do so.
I was reading Mark 10 this past weekend, and it occurred to me that Jesus showed what it meant to be a man.
His Father had sent him to Jerusalem to die.
And though it was scary, though Jesus didn’t want to die, he set his face resolutely toward Jerusalem, even as the people who followed him were hanging back in fear. (Mark 10:32)
Jesus lived by every word that came from his Father’s mouth, no matter the cost.
He was a true man.
Men, I don’t know about you, but I want to be a man like Jesus was.
Will we live by every word that comes from our Father’s mouths, no matter what?
The good news is that we don’t have to do this in our own strength. The truth is, we can’t. So let’s remember Jesus’ words.
Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. (John 15:4-5)
What will you do?
Our wives, our sons and daughters, our girlfriends, and this world are watching.
Moment to Moment (Bible blog) 