All my life, I have heard "be a man" - from pre-teen years thru my adult life. Now, I will admit, I’m an emotional kind of guy, and it wasn’t until recently that I had learned "why" I was so emotional, so I was told to "man up" or, my favorite, "Cowboy the [explicative] up" several times. But what does that mean? Apparently, I have a right to ask since I am apparently not a man (by my commenter’s perspective).

I had a dad all my life, although my parents were divorced, and he did the best he could with what he was shown. My mom is awesome - she did everything she could so we lived with few worries. No, we weren’t "well-off" but she made it all work. And maybe her "overprotectiveness" may have had something to do with my "lack of obvious manliness"… but that can’t be it.

What did I need to do to convince these people that I was a "man"? Face conflict with my fists? Obtain a criminal record? Save a baby from a burning building? Have an obviously flexible sense of morality (sleep around a lot)? Or, maybe it’s to simply not show emotions! Whatever it is, I will tell you that their comments drove me to "become" this man that I am obviously not.

You can only imagine how that turned out. It simply made matters worse.

The problem all along was… no one really had a true idea on what it took to be a "man" - I’m not saying that I’m a pro or know anything but… Everyone (and I’ll take it in the "with their best intentions in mind"…) had this busted up & broken definition… something you see in movies or tv. It’s a joke (sorry - my blog, my perspective).

Being a man isn’t about testosterone, or physical strength, or the amount of cats you’ve rescued from a tree… this is about control, inner strength & self-confidence, standing firm in what you believe in when the world tells you that you’re wrong…

This, of course, is the obvious sedge way towards Jesus. He had ultimate power, along with the right to wield it… He had an army at His command… Forget finger-snaps, forget words, one thought from Him and someone could be erased from complete history. He lived in Heaven and yet came down to earth for 33yrs… to live with stress, fatigue, hunger & thirst, and us imperfect people. And even upon the cross, when the crowd turned upon Him and cheered his death on, He remained a true man.

So what does being a "man" mean, when we use Jesus as our baseline?

Being "the man" means that you are the farthest thing from "the Man"… They live this by following God. Luke 9:59-62

Having a "greater authority" means having complete trust in that authority. God has provided, provides to this day, and will continue to provide. Everything was given to us, so why hold tightly onto the things that can be replaced? Things that we can’t take with us to heaven? Luke 14:26

Slaves are normally not joyful in their obedience… otherwise, they wouldn’t really be "slaves". And altho the world may see us as slaves, we are the farthest thing from it - We are regarded in God’s eyes, placed in His favor because we recognize His Power in our lives, and in the world around us. We are with God 100% when times are bad, along with good.John 6:66-69

Before we head to the gym, check Face-o-gram, or go to work, we remember God’s power that He has shown us in our lives, and in that gratitude, we start our day off with our quiet time. Not only does our gratitude shine during this time, it’s also points our day in the direction we want it to go - in line with Him. Mark 1:35

Being a man isn’t about cars, appearance, our tax bracket or how good our lawn looks… Although God allows us to develop in these areas, a real man’s primary product is spiritual fruit - love. This is shown in us sharing our faith & introducing people to God, forgiving and (yes) loving our enemies, and encouraging one another so they are drawn closer to God. John 15:8

When frustrating or difficult things happen, this man that we’re talking about remembers that God is always in control, and that these things must happen for HIs benefit, and not his benefit [see what I did there?!?]. Jesus sacrificed Himself for all of mankind. When his friends & followers were cheering Hm towards death, or disconnecting themselves from Him, Jesus let it all unfold. No snarky remarks, no protection or ease from any pain whatsoever, and no "realizations that we simply weren’t worth this sacrifice"… In the end, He simply said "It is finished". John 19:30

*sigh* looking at this list, I am most definitely not a man. I seem to struggle with each & every item listed… But the one thing I do have in my favor is, I know that God wants me to become this man… Where the world may see this as some unachievable goal, there is something more than "me" and He wants me to win. And He helps me in becoming this person, a little every day.