Being a man is more than football, red meat, and power tools. Our society lacks clarity on the definition of what it means to be a man, promoting a range of ideas and stereotypes. In this day and age, what does it mean to be a man of God? For the next few weeks, I am going to be exploring what the Bible says about manhood. As men, we are all different, but at its core, biblical manhood takes the complexities of our differences and forms them into simple truths that are universal: sure sonship, strong wisdom, bold humility, and faithful momentum. Let’s try to simplify things.
Sure Sonship
The idea of “sonship” was essential in ancient times and references how the first-born son inherited everything from their father. In Christ, all people (male and female) are named sons of God…heirs to the Kingdom. This is a universal idea that is connected to the salvation received by naming Jesus Christ as savior and repenting of our sins (see Galatians 4:4-7), but as men, I believe that this idea hits us in a significant way.
Something in our wiring tells men that we have to provide. Sin warps this impulse, making us believe that we cannot do so unless we are on par with or greater than our fathers. Whether we have positive relationships with our earthly fathers or not, the voice we hear in our heads tells us that we must be equal or better when it comes to our careers, our relationships, and sometimes even our spirituality. We doubt our identity as children of God, and turn away from God’s power to do everything on our own so that we can provide an equal or better standard of living for our future than we had as children. We compare our successes and failures to others, never completely sure that we are enough.
Scripture tells us that true manhood is rooted in being a son. Sons don’t earn their title…it is simply who they are regardless of where or to whom they are born. In an earthly sense, sons have the opportunity to become or to eclipse their fathers. When it comes to being a son of God, however, we must always be sons.
Being a son of God means accepting his discipline (Hebrews 12:7). It means trusting that our father knows better than we do and only wants what is best for us. There is joy in being a son, but in order to experience that joy, we must lay down our desire to be greater than what was before in order to simply be.
Are you letting yourself be sure in your sonship? Remember that your sonship and place in God’s heart is sure and unchangeable through Christ’s sacrifice. It is shocking to think that a concept associated with manhood requires acceptance rather than action, but claiming this sureness brings us to a state of being that forms the backbone of biblical manhood. We grow into men by embracing the child-like joy of being a son and being loved perfectly by God.
Repeat this prayer today:
Father, I thank you for claiming me as your son through Christ. Help me to hold this truth close to my heart and live each moment of every day knowing surely that you love me, and my identity is in you. Thank you for the everlasting joy of sonship. Amen.
Wandering Abednego 