“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name…” the immortal words of Jesus ring in my ear as the valedictorian of a high school in South Carolina begins to recite the Lord’s prayer in protest to the school district that had just chosen to ban any mention of God in public speeches. Despite the extensive cheering and clapping going on in the background all I hear in my head is, our Father, our Father… I can’t get the words out of my head.
I have always been very close to my father. He’s my Papa. Growing up he was the person I always wanted to be around and the one in whose love I have always been secure. However, just as with most households in North America, Father’s day has never been a very big deal to me. A, maybe I should stop by Walmart on the way home from church to get a card now that I think about it, kind of holiday. It wasn’t until church yesterday that I began to realize this is fairly representative of how I often respond to God as my father; I love to be in His presence, but tend to under appreciate and under praise Him.
I visited a wonderful church Sunday while here in North Carolina with several of my fellow trainees. There was such an air of freedom in that place and I really enjoyed it, but one of the main reasons was because of how they celebrated fathers. The pastor had all of the fathers come up on the stage (around 150 or so) and proceeded to have them sing the old Promise Keepers song Man of the Spirit, Man of the Word three times all the way through. After the second time he asked them to get their sons and all of the other men up there as well to sing it the final time. You’d think us women would have been sick of hearing it at this point, but that last time was special. With their sons in their arms, and determination on their faces, all of these men sang in unison:
Jesus, make a man of me, with Your integrity
Man of the Spirit, man of the word
A servant of the LORD, an offering unfold
Man of the Spirit, man of the word
And lives to honor You
We have been learning all this week at CIT (Center for Intercultural Training) about culture and how we need to recognize our own ingrained cultural perspective before we try to understand that of others so that we can recognize the lenses we naturally look through and sift through what is purely Biblical and what is influenced by cultural tradition. That got me thinking about my view of men… is my view of men Biblical, or culturally defined? My tendency to think it isn’t a big deal to not get a gift for my father for Father’s day is pretty cultural, but isn’t a Biblical issue, so what does it matter? Well, what is the thought behind it? He’s just a man, it probably doesn’t matter to him anyway. That statement doesn’t sound so bad, but what does it really say about us, what does it say about me? That honoring our men is not a very big deal.
Man of the Spirit, man of the word
A servant of the LORD, an offering unfold
Man of the Spirit, man of the word
A man of mercy, fire and light
A man who loves the truth
Who runs to win the crown of life
And lives to honor You
Jesus make a man of me, to bring glory unto Thee
Man of the Spirit, man of the word
Faithful to the end, fervent and not faint
Man of the Spirit, man of the word
A man of mercy, fire and light
A man who loves the truth
Who runs to win the crown of life
And lives to honor You
I cannot tell you how special that moment was to me. To look on probably four generations of men, from in their 90s to a few months old and see the love for the Lord and who they want to be written on their withered and smooth faces alike was indescribable. And I as a woman sang gladly the last chorus with them as a prayer of recognition of who Christ has made them to be.
In the sermon that followed I began to understand why that was so beautiful… because men reflect the glory of God in a unique way and we long to see it. As a woman my heart cries out to see God as my strong tower, as my provider, as my loving, tender father. I want to praise Him for those things and appreciate all of who He is and CELEBRATE Him. So don’t you think we women should start to celebrate these things in our men, and men in each other?
We have been learning all this week at CIT (Center for Intercultural Training) about culture and how we need to recognize our own ingrained cultural perspective before we try to understand that of others so that we can recognize the lenses we naturally look through and sift through what is purely Biblical and what is influenced by cultural tradition. That got me thinking about my view of men… is my view of men Biblical, or culturally defined? My tendency to think it isn’t a big deal to not get a gift for my father for Father’s day is pretty cultural, but isn’t a Biblical issue, so what does it matter? Well, what is the thought behind it? He’s just a man, it probably doesn’t matter to him anyway. That statement doesn’t sound so bad, but what does it really say about us, what does it say about me? That honoring our men is not a very big deal. I love my Papa so much, and he knows it, but honor (or respect) according to the Scriptures is what a man’s heart cries out for and what we as women can do to empower and raise them up into the men the Lord has called them to be. I strongly believe that much of the reason so many boys are not learning how to become men anymore is because we have followed our culture and stopped taking being a man seriously, honoring our men, and praising how they uniquely bear the image of God. So encourage the men in your life. Praise them for who they are and who you’ve seen them become, and tell them how you see our heavenly Father in them.
Father, please help me to see men as you see them. Help me to honor the men around me and those whom I love. Make me a woman who encourages and empowers them to be who they are in You and not stifle them or discourage them. I want to honor them and honor You in them just as I want to honor You, not just with my life, but with my lips and the cry of my heart. May Your praise continually be on my lips and in my heart.
(pics – Middle: Papa and Bubba (my brother Michael) at his wedding Bottom: My wonderful, godly Papa)
(If any of you are new to my blog and would like to read some of what the Lord has done in me this past year on the World Race, you can at christianagunn.theworldrace.org)
You share the truth! Very convicting!
Thanks Mommy, love you!