I just started a new podcast series “Men after God’s Heart”. What is this about? Let me share with you my initial thoughts that lead to his new podcast series. I published this article nearly 5 years ago! But the topic is still really important if not more today!
Man of God! This is something that we hear very often in the Christian realm. We use this term to describe the pastors, evangelists, worship leaders and any other who has a leading position in the church. While it is correct to say that they are indeed men of GOD – their fruits should show this -, however, they are not the only men of God. I think it’s high time that we stop this, because every man born of the spirit, is a MAN OF GOD. So I am a Man of God, and you too are men of God! (You are called to be one!)
I’m engaging myself on a path and I want to invite you to walk together in discovering who we are, what is our identity, what makes us who we are, what makes us be what God designed us to be. Of course, my views are based on my christian faith. If you do not share my faith, you might see things differently and i’m okay with that.
Let’s start by admitting that as men, we have many roles to fulfil. We can be husbands, fathers, sons, brothers, cousins, friends, neighbours, employees, employers and so on. It’s important that we understand that we are to have relationship with others and will have to wear many hats at different times!
It is also good to note that we might have several roles at the same time. Though at our earliest age we might have only a few, but as we grow, we will definitely be engaged in several roles. For instance, as an individual, I am son, brother, husband, father, cousin, friend and employer. I think I have not missed anything. My son Matthew who is only 12 years old, has the following roles: son, brother, friend, student and cousin.
There are some of these roles, which relate to our parents, some to our contacts and then to our own family (the one that we form on our wedding). However, though the Bible says that a man leaves his father and mother, to become one with his wife (and form his own family), I have come to understand that this does not mean we stop honouring our parents, or that our roles as son, brother just stop there. It will be a great mistake to believe that. I certainly did focus more on my role as husband/father and neglected my brother/son role. God has placed us in a family, and certainly wants us to maintain our roles with the right balance.
One of God’s commandments, is to honour our parents, this does not change or is not void on our wedding day. Just as our relationship with our close relatives does not end on that day, nor do we swap our family (parents, brothers, sisters) with that of our wives. We keep behaving as we were, but in a balanced way now. I have been reflecting on This for the past weeks, and This must firstly apply to myself. We do sometimes get so engaged in our personal commitments that we forget that outside of our immediate family, there are others who are counting on us. You NEED to get this right, because our faith is all about others and less about ourselves.
The Ideal Man: We all know that women (and others) expect so much of us. If you ask any woman about their ideal man, you will quickly find out that their requirements will never be the same. However, what the world is looking for, is an ideal “man” or “ideal woman”. So we have no other options, we need to be the ideal man. But what is the ideal man? May be you should ask yourself, what do you think the ideal man is like?
But there are two types of ideal man! The first one is defined by the norms of society, and the second type is the one that is defined by God’s standards. What interests us, is to be an ideal man through God’s eyes.
A point to start with: An Ideal, “total” or “real man” AKA the real deal! He is one who understands and accepts the responsibility for the development of his mental, emotional, and spiritual capacity. He will demonstrate this in his mature actions and decisions in his personal life, his home life, his work life, his social life and his spiritual life.
Yes, you read right, it has nothing to do with your past, nothing to do with your physical appearance or abilities, nothing to do with your intelligence, surely nothing to do with your education, talents and skills. Imagine that these were the criteria, how many of us would be out of contention! BUT, based on the definition above, we understand that this is a progressive plan, it’s an on-going process, an enriching experience that the LORD wants us to start.
DID YOU KNOW? We fulfil our eternal purpose only when our life honours God and reflects his Glory. God takes pleasure in his spiritual sons (men of god) who reflect his character.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In any of our roles, if our body, soul and spirit are not dedicated to God, we are fatally handicapped, and will be unable to be the real deal that we long to be. We need the Author of Life with us.
General Attributes of ideal Men : Here are the main traits that we, men, must have or develop. You can start thinking on these: Commitment – Conviction – Courage – Character – Constructiveness – Confidence – Control – Care – Consideration – Cooperation – Communication – Conduct.
If that interest you, you still can subscribe and follow my podcast series on your favourite podcast channel. Or you can click on the below picture to start listening..
