For The Love Of Man

I HAVE been asked to write something about men which I confess I am not used to. Although I desired to and I pray earnestly that I will be able to give it at least as much justice as I have given the topic about women. It is, after all, inevitable not to mention man whilst talking about woman.

In actuality, we can better understand our sexual differences and roles when we speak equally of both sexes. The best place to begin a story is usually at the beginning.

History Of Man This is the history of the heavens and the earth…, but more particularly here, man, when he was created. In the day that God made Him.

Out of the dust of the ground God formed a body for man and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. Thus man became a living being. Yeah… man didn’t come from Jupiter and that’s a good thing to know! Identity Comes Before Purpose One issue I have personally seen among men is a lack of identity.

You cannot have true purpose without a real identity. Trying to live off a self-given purpose will not automatically endow you with the security of an identity? Why are some men so insecure and bitter? Why do they hold on to things like their jobs, possessions, and friends so tightly and loose hope when it is lost? Why do they feel that the evidence of their superiority is based on lording themselves over women? What do they have to prove? The answer is a lack of identity.

Whatever we do stems from our sense of identity. We see the perfect Man when He walked the earth, always sure, never in doubt; He never hesitated and yet was never in a hurry, was gentle and yet spoke with such great authority.

We see Him as a master of His body and circumstances. Is it any wonder that He spoke often of His oneness with His Father? Is it a surprise that what He did He did as Son of God? As a young child He was so full of this identity that He marvelled that Mary and Joseph did not know that He would be about His Father’s business.

(Luke 2:49) I believe that the frustrations and outbursts most men feel is as a result of not knowing their identity in Christ. Now, before we read that God took man and placed him in the garden of Eden to tend it (Genesis 2:15), we must first back up a bit to Genesis 1:26. “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” (Genesis 1:26 KJV) (Words in bold are my emphasis) You see…man was already son of God – created like God(Luke 3:38).

Had Adam held on to his identity he would not have been deceived into believing that a physical fruit that would make him like God.

When he forgot who he was he had a sense of inadequacy. As always, a sense of inadequacy makes anyone make terrible and stupid mistakes.

Man lost his dominion after losing His identity. Man actually succumbed to a creature that he was supposed to lord over. That is how man fell from what he was created to be.

Is it a surprise that many men still find themselves in the same position of inadequacy? Thinking that something physical – something attainable in their own energy will give them a sense of identity? Why do you want to be a self made man? Your buck will only be as strong as you are. However, if you rise up to something God-made, then you will have a push that reaches eternity.

I’m banking on a universal love for stories here because I believe this little one illustrates the point I am making. “There was once a hunter who came across an eagle’s nest perched high upon a cliff. Inside the nest were three eggs left orphaned by their parents.

Wanting to preserve the eagles, the hunter removed the nest and brought the eggs back to his farm in the country where he had several dozen chickens.

After placing the eggs with one of his hens, several weeks went by and the eggs hatched. Months went by and as the eagles grew, one eagle began hearing a voice inside, telling him that he was different from all the rest.

He went to his brothers, the two other eagles, and told him what the voice had said. His brothers laughed at him and said that they were born chickens and they would remain chickens for the rest of their lives. They took him over to a large dusty mirror inside the hen house and the eagle looked at his distorted reflection. They said, “Our mother has feathers, you have feathers; our mother has wings, you have wings.

Our mother is a chicken, you are a chicken.” “Their reasoning makes sense,” the eagle said. “I seem to look like a chicken so I guess I am a chicken.” A year went by as the eagles lived as chickens.

They pecked the ground for grain, hunted for worms and bugs, and most importantly, they never flew. One day as the eagle wandered to the edge of the farm, he found himself under a large tree. He heard a deep soft voice from above. “What are you doing here, young eagle?”The eagle looked up to see a wise old owl perched on a branch. “I’m not an eagle; I’m a chicken, and I’m looking for bugs to eat.”

The owl had a sad look on his face. Just then, his large wings began to open, and in a flash, the owl landed on the ground next to the eagle. “Wow!” the eagle said. “I wish I could do that.” The owl sadly shook his head and removed a book from under his wings.

He opened the book to a page and showed it to the eagle. The picture was of a large majestic bird, flying high in the sky. “This is who you are,” the owl said as he pointed at the picture. “You have allowed your circumstances and others to tell you that you were a chicken, when all along you were an eagle.” “But what about the mirror?” the eagle asked. “I have feathers and wings like all the other chickens.

Why am I not a chicken like the rest of them?” “Because the image you saw in the mirror was distorted. Yes, you possess the same physical qualities as a chicken like feathers and wings, but inside, you were created to be an eagle. Only until you can see who you really are will you be able to live the life God intended you to live.”

The owl held up the book. “Young eagle, this book tells us who God created us to be, and because you have seen your image inside, and I have told you the same, you must embrace it and fly.” “Fly?” the eagle asked.

The owl smiled and nodded. “Yes, fly. All you have to do is believe that you are an eagle and you will fly as God created you to.” With a frightened look on his face, the eagle began to spread his wings. “Don’t be afraid, young eagle. Just believe.” With a tear in his eye, the young eagle believed and in an instant he was airborne, flying and soaring in the sky.”

Jeff Pate If you are a man, I encourage you to look deeply and sincerely into the Word of God and find your identity, understand your potential and arise to it. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV)