GEMS IN GENESIS: THE CALL TO AND THE NEED FOR GODLY MEN - RISE UP, BROTHERS!

The church is the hope of this world as it articulates and acts out the transforming realities of the gospel. One might even say that the moral decay of our society is, in some measure, connected to the moral compromise of the church and our unwillingness - due to fear or faithlessness - to represent the ethic of the kingdom and King we claim to represent. All of this may well be true but there is another aspect that needs to constantly be addressed: the abdication of the place and the presence of men of God.

The hope of the church starts with men, real men, who have been transformed by the gospel and, as a result, bring transformation wherever they go. I call Christian men true men, not because other males are not biologically so, but because Christian men are men who follow and love the real man, Jesus Christ. The hope that the world needs is not merely a belief or emotion, but an active and aggressive acting for Jesus in the world so that people see Christ modeled before the watching, but waning and wasting world. What the world needs are men of God to rise up and not only take their rightful place in the home (though this is primary) but in the whole of society as well.

The godly man is a theological man. This means that he is a man who knows God, a man who is in constant pursuit of God and a man whose passion is the glory of God. This is a call for men in the church to act like men in Christ! If men will hear, and heed this challenge it will be because they are consumed with Christ. For them it is not that black lives matter, nor is it the cliche that all lives matter. The mantra of the man of God is this: THE GLORY OF GOD MATTERS! The glory of God means the weightiness of God and, therefore, there are at least two things that will be true about godly men.

First, they will not minimize God’s character and rule to make people happy because they understand that people’s happiness is rooted in maximizing God's character and rule. Godly men are not afraid. They are wise and they are considerate, but they are never afraid to take the role of leadership and all that comes with this and own this position regardless of the consequences. While I will speak about this in the days to come let me make this point: when Jesus calls us to be meek, he is not calling us to be weak. The reason meekness could never mean weakness is because weakness is not a trait of God!

This does mean that we will not look weak, because there will be times when we will, even though we are not. Sometimes we must back down in situations which may make us appear weak, but in the reality of representing Christ, it is the greatest expression of meekness. Now, there are time when, well... we just might have to show some "mad squabbles"... (Turn the other cheek? We can debate this; or maybe it just shows that, in this area, I am a bit lacking in sanctification! Whatever it is, there are times when I would just have to do what I gotta do). I am not advocating violence, impatience, vengeance, or retribution. I am simply saying that, well, Jesus turned over some tables and that might be interpreted differently now! I'm just saying.

Second, the godly man will emerge as God’s man with God’s Word as his only truth and God’s kingdom as his only purpose. Everything and everyone that lay in his path gets a big, broad, and deep dose of the glory and weightiness of God through his word and witness. No one gets a pass when in the presence of a godly man. Yes, they will see Christ in them, but they will also be confronted by or cared for with the gospel. Where that person stands with Jesus will dictate which one they feel. The godly man must, because he is compelled and constrained by the love of God, share with people this love. In many ways the godly man is just a beggar who found bread and needs to tell other beggars where (or Who) that bread is! They practice as much of the gospel as they preach because, at the heart of their burden is to be men of integrity - consistency. All who meet this kind of man learn, quickly, what matters most to him.

To this two-fold picture of the godly man there are constraints and impediments to his emergence and consistency. Over the next few days, drawing from the picture of Adam, I want to do the following:

Define and destroy the dysfunctional aspects of manhood for the eternal purposes of restoring

and rebuilding the godly man who understands, knows, and takes his rightful place in his

families, his church, and the world.

Rise up, men of God