Wild at Heart (PART 2: In Whose Image?)

"If a boy is to become a man, if a man is to know he is one, this is not an option. A man has to know where he comes from, and what he's made of." (Wild at Heart, p. 21)

I came from a family of six children, my place the last in line -- the baby of the family. I came from a father who was emotionally absent yet prone to anger. I came from a mother who was emotionally smothering yet prone to high anxiety. I was made of nightmares and daydreams, success and failure, loneliness and fantasy, intimacy and pornography, faith and drugs, anger and kindness, isolation and courage. I'm still a boy, growing up to be a man -- and I am a man, dying a slow death to the ways of a child.

God knows all this -- and He still loves me. And yet there are many times I look at myself and wonder how I can possibly be made in His image. All I see is the boy or the man -- who I was or who I haven't been. In whose image?

In Chapter Two of Wild at Heart by John Eldredge (2001: Thomas Nelson, Inc.), the great paradox of masculinity is approached, wherein a man knows that he doesn't want to become his father yet then struggles in a search for strength and beauty in the image of God.

Where Do We Come From?

Men are the image-bearers of God...but who is the One whose image every man bears? What is the masculinity of Jesus?

"The Lord is a gentleman?" Eldredge asks. "Not if you're in the service of His enemy. God has a battle to fight, and the battle is for our freedom." (p. 25)

The God of the Bible holds all the archetypes, if you will, that are recognized to be hard-wired into every man: the compassionate and caring individual (a Lover), a strong and powerful force (a Warrior), the focused and responsible leader (a King), and a wise and discerning counselor (a Sage).

In Matthew's Gospel account, we can learn the parts of the truth in whose image we are cast. Jesus told the Pharisees (his enemies), "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' (Deuteronomy 6:5 NIV) This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Leviticus 19:18 NIV)(Matthew 22:37-39 NIV)

As a man, I have been cast in the image of a loving God -- if I have any doubt, I can ask myself one question: "Would I sacrifice my own son in order to reconcile the loss of those I love?" John, in his Gospel, tells us where God's heart is: "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16 NIV)

There is little doubt -- we, as men created in the image of God -- are embodied with the capacity to love. As an image-bearer of God, it is our highest calling.

A Battle to Fight

Let us turn our sights upon the image of God as a warrior. Even a cursory reading of the Old Testament reveals God's activity in warfare. The New Testament isn't leaving out His fierce presence, either.

John tells us, in Revelation, "I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and makes war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a Name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His Name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine line, white and clean. Out of His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations." (Revelation 19:11-15 NIV)

This isn't a nice boy Jesus.

And what of the might Samson, a wild man of Scripture? "The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the LORD blessed him, and the Spirit of the LORD began to stir him..." (Judges 13:24-25 NIV) Yet this isn't the Samson we know much about, is it?

As Samson grew, he wanted to marry a young Philistine woman. As he traveled with his parents to claim her as his bride "suddenly a young lion came roaring toward him. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands..." (Judges 14:5-6 NIV)

Through examples such as this, one can see that the Spirit of the LORD was present in Samson -- and, of course, in Christ. It is the fierceness in the heart of God that we bear as part of His image -- a fierceness that many men have either forgotten they own or, for whatever reason, are afraid to engage. But it's there.

What About Adventure?

"What's at risk?"

It could be one of the most challenging questions a man could ask of himself or be asked to answer. Did God ever take a risk? And does He love adventure?

According to Eldredge, "God is a person who takes immense risks. No doubt the biggest risk of all was when He gave angels and men free will -- including the freedom to reject Him -- not just once but every single day." (Wild at Heart, p. 30)

Put simply, God did not have to create us -- He chose to. He simply could have made Adam (and Eve) obey His spoken commands -- instead, as Eldredge notes, "He took a risk. A staggering risk, with staggering consequences. He let others into His story, and He let their choices shape it profoundly." (p. 31)

As a man -- and as a Christian -- I forget from time to time that its' not my story...it's His! And every single time I forget, when I got to that place as a man where I'm convinced it's all about me, God shows up -- comes through -- and demonstrates the truth that He has what it takes.

Also, as my peer relationships develop with men -- and as I examine how God chooses to use me in the necessary unveiling of His story -- I am both fascinated and humbled to be chosen as one of His ambassadors. As a man who follows God (and lives out His image), I am able to see past who I was and look towards whose image I was created to reflect.

"Therefore," the apostle Paul tells us, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciled to the world Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were make His appeal through us." (2 Corinthians 5:17-20 NIV)

Can you glimpse the wildness in God's heart, His sense and love for adventure? What a great sacrifice -- and risk -- not to count men's sins against them -- and for us, as men, to be given such a duty as ambassadors for the Gospel.

"God needs to get a message out to the human race, without which they will perish...forever. What's the plan? First, He starts with the most unlikely group ever: a couple of prostitutes, a few fishermen with no better than a second-grade education, a tax collector. Then, He passes the ball to us. Unbelievable." (Wild at Heart, p. 32)

And, in the end, after risk upon risk, God literally bleeds for us in His heart -- reminding us (reminding me) that we, as men, are capable of sacrificing so much more than we do in order to live out the God-sized adventures calling from our hearts.

Like Children

A.W. Tozer says, "God waits to be wanted." And isn't it like children -- little boys or little girls -- to want to have love bestowed upon them, to be a priority to someone?

As the masculine (and feminine) run deep and wide across God's creation, one can easily see that the image of God is fierce, wild, and passionate. "And this is our true Father," Eldredge writes, "the stock from which the heart of man is drawn. Strong, courageous love." (p. 35)

There is both a strength AND a beauty to man. Remember...God's creation, His image, captures both. Man is captivated by the beauty unveiled in woman because God created Eve to be the crown to the splendor and strength of man. "Adam bears the likeness of God in his fierce, wild, and passionate heart. And yet, there is one more finishing touch. There is Eve." (Wild at Heart, p. 37)

In strength. In captivating beauty. At what point, as men, do we miss the mark -- and the point -- that God wants to be worshiped? As men created in His image, let us continue to examine our role in the search for authentic masculinity with both strength and beauty. As King David said in Psalm 62, "One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that You, O God, are strong, and that You, O Lord, are loving." (Psalm 62:11-12 NIV)

Next Week: Wild at Heart (PART 3: The Question)

Wild at Heart (PART 1: Made Just Like That)

I'm tired and bored with men who are tired and bored.

I believe that one of the main reasons men fail to step up into healthy and genuine masculinity is that they choose to be ignorant of what's true to their hearts.

I am looking for my heart. Are you?

For the next twelve weeks , I invite you as a man -- Christian or not -- on a journey with me in search of the masculine heart. My inspiration for this particular path of my sojourn is based on the book Wild at Heart by John Eldredge (2001: Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

Read this book. Buy it and read it. Borrow it and read it. Check it out from the library and read it. Eldredge, the founder of Ransomed Heart Ministries (http://www.ransomedheart.com/) and author of many books concerning a man's journey to find himself as made in the image of God, pulls absolutely no punches. As men, he challenges us, we need permission to be the men who were made in God's image, living from the heart He created, not from the lists of should or ought to that the world constantly hammers us into shape with.

Men (and I'm not shy or afraid to claim "I am a man -- made just like that!") are hard wired for adventure -- not cubicles, cappuccino, or cable TV. The authentic masculine is built and designed by God for all the danger, wildness, and spiritual longing deeply embedded into our souls.

Doesn't sound like the Sunday school Jesus? I'm talking about the Jesus, led by the Spirit, out into the wilderness. (Matthew 4:1-11 NIV) And out there, I can only imagine some of the questions, as a man, He might have been asking:

"Who am I?"

"What am I made of?"

"What am I destined for?"

And Eldredge is also asking the hard questions about men in the church. "What is a Christian man? Don't listen to what is said, look at what you find there. There is no doubt about it. You'd have to admit a Christian man is...bored. (Wild at Heart, p. 7)

In my judgment, there have been far too few invitations for me to know and live from the deepest parts of my heart. I am not alone, but I also cannot ignore the invitation God offers through His creation of the masculine heart. He created me, and He created Men. "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Genesis 1:27 NASB)

The foundation of what Eldredge invites us, as men, to look at is what creates the true desires of our hearts and what makes us, as men, come alive. He proposes the major yearnings have been misplaced, forgotten, or misdirected -- but they are still there, hard wired into us:

In the heart of every man is the desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue.

A Battle to Fight

"If we believe that man is made in the image of God," Eldredge challenges us, "then we would do well to remember that 'the LORD is a warrior; the LORD is His name.'" (Exodus 15:3 NASB)(Wild at Heart, p. 10)

There is a power in healthy and genuine masculinity, and many of us, as men, have lost that power. Life needs fierce men, for the world heaps wound upon wound on us. The call to battle, for some men, is something they run from instead of run to. The desire still lives in us to answer the call to battle, wherever the fight may be.

Eldredge reminds us that every man needs to know his power -- and discover the fierceness in his God-created heart.

An Adventure to Live

If you want to see an example of men at different stages of acceptance and levels of struggle with their hearts, watch the movie Legends of the Fall, starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Aidan Quinn. In this riveting tale of fathers, sons, brothers, and men, we can find a display (in Pitt's portrayal of the middle son, Tristan) of what a man can be when he is wild at heart. Adventure, Eldredge tells us, is written into the heart of a man...and it requires something -- a testing of who we are as men.

"Do I have what it takes?"

During the years I've been associated with men's work (through The ManKind Project™ -- http://www.mkpky.org/), this question always brings me to a place in front of life's mirror -- a place that invites me to look past the flesh and into the heart. It takes me to the doorway of desire.

"If a man has lost this desire," Eldredge notes, "says he doesn't want it, that's only because he doesn't know he has what it takes, believes that he will fail the test. And so he decides it's better not to try." (Wild at Heart, p. 14)

And so I ask: What adventure are you not living only because you don't know you have what it takes?

A Beauty to Rescue

A beautiful woman is inspiring to a strong man. Adam and Eve. Romeo and Juliet. Arthur and Guinevere. Aragorn and Arwen.

"A man," Eldredge says, "wants to be a hero to the beauty." (p. 15) It's not just the battle to fight -- a man needs someone to fight for, and the romance of the woman he loves to inspire him.

The passion in our hearts, as men, also comes from our God-created inspiration and model to love. God knew that it wasn't good for man to be alone, so He created woman -- perhaps the pinnacle of His creation, replete with beauty and mystery. Eldredge notes that a woman's heart yearns to be fought for, desires to share in our adventures as men, and holds a beauty she longs to unveil.

We, as men, in power and strength, have what it takes to engage the heart of such beauty.

Way of the Heart

"What if?"

Eldredge, as he concludes Chapter One of Wild at Heart, asks this amazingly powerful question:

"What if those deep desires in our hearts are telling us the truth, revealing to us the life we were meant to live? God gave us eyes so that we might see; He gave us ears that we might hear; He gave us wills that we might choose, and He gave us hearts that we might live." (p. 18)

As a man, do you know you are powerful? As a man, do you know you have what it takes?

The journey continues...let us continue, as men, to seek our hearts.

Next Week: Wild at Heart (PART 2: In Whose Image?)

Who Am I, Anyway? Am I My Resume?

One of my favorite Broadway musicals is A Chorus Line. In one of the opening numbers, a dancer has a line that has been hidden in my heart for the past 28 years: "Who am I, anyway? Am I my resume?"

For the past 6 months, I've been unemployed. Through the grace of God, I have a certain level of job skills and talents, but apparently so do many other people who are also pursuing the jobs I'm not getting hired for.

Society (and Satan) would stick a variety of labels on me, hoping some will stick: jobless, homeless, penniless, addict, porno freak -- and, yes, even Christian. When I look into the mirror, I see only a reflection of who I am, gazing at the physical manifestation of a living, spiritual presence.

"Who am I, anyway?"

In looking to God, my Creator, and His living and active Word, I can find a more accurate description of who I was -- and have become.

"As for you," Paul tells us in his Letter to the Ephesians, "you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions -- it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:1-5 NIV)

I challenge you to look into the mirror of God's Word -- do you see your fingerprints on any of what Paul describes?

At one time, all the labels fit. God, indeed, had mercy on me, a sinner. Who I wanted to be for nearly a quarter century was who I was without His grace -- and who I am today, saved only by His grace, is to be a work (created by God for His glory) that will continue until I meet the Lord.

"Am I my resume?"

As I wait faithfully for God to renew my opportunities to work and be responsible, I must look from the mirror, away from the piece of paper a resume is, and towards who it is that God saved me to be.

"And God raised us up with Christ," the apostle Paul continues in his letter, "and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God -- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:6-10 NIV, italics added)

As a man, as a Christian, I cannot boast of anyone or anything but the work Jesus did on the cross. Even my future employer will not see that qualification on my resume. Only through grace does God give me the strength and honestly to be who I am -- a sinner saved by grace, through faith alone.

So today I look towards Christ, the author and finisher of my faith. I can answer those questions:

"Who am I, anyway?"

I am Yours, Lord. Thank You for grace, mercy, and love.

"Am I my resume?"

No. And I look forward to doing even more of the good works God has prepared in advance for me to do. No matter where my resume is on His desk, I remain faithful to His call.

Home (less) for Him

"Do not let your heart be troubled..." (John 14:1 NASB)

After making the transition from a 1-bedroom apartment to the top bunk in a dorm room of a local homeless shelter, I rested in these words of Jesus. I felt like crying -- though in a room with fifteen other men a part of me shamed my heart into silence. The tears, though, wanted birth because I knew the Lord to be truthful. "...believe in God," Christ went on to say, "believe also in me." (v. 1)

What, as a man, do you believe?

I believe that God is fathering me at this point in my life, taking me back to past wounds -- even old places (you see, I've been to this particular shelter twice before in the last 10 years) -- in order to show me the depths of His love, grace, and mercy. I believe that He is taking me on the adventure of a lifetime (and eternity) in order to find the heart He redeemed. Isn't that what a little boy wants from his father -- someone to love him, teach him, protect him, and share the amazing story of growing up together? I believe this adventure can't be found sitting at home (or even sitting in church) -- I must be willing to trust the Lord with all my heart and be home less for Him.

"In my Father's house," Jesus told His disciples in the Gospel of John, "are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you." (John 14:2 NASB)

I believe that the place Christ has gone to prepare for me is a paramount reason I should be home less for Him. At the shelter this morning, one of the men I had just met the night before came up to me while I was sitting alone.

"You like the Bible?" he asked.

I smiled, knowing he had listened to me speaking with another man at the shelter (who is a Christian) about a passage in Paul's Letter to the Romans.

"Yes," I said.

"Would you like to talk sometime about certain passages?"

"Of course," I replied, once again knowing that the Lord was preparing a place for me -- with this particular circumstance, space within the shelter to speak to others about God's Word.

It's like men's work. My connection to The ManKind Project™ (http://www.mkpky.org/) also challenges me to be home less for Him. As a man with a Mission (to make manifest the glory of God by serving others with grace, mercy, love, and forgiveness), I seek to connect with my peers in engaging men's hearts and participating in the real time battle of masculine initiation with the goal of changing the world one man at a time.

Recently, I had the privilege and honor of being a Man of Service for the staff of a New Warrior Training Adventure™, a 3-day experiential weekend designed to challenge men to look deeply at who they are and how they consciously (and unconsciously) make life choices. I believe God used this blessing to have me pour out my heart in service because He is ready to pour in an amazing flow of new opportunity into my life -- which is now, as a believer, His home.

I want to be home less for Him. I believe to live out my Mission, I must take the risk each day to go into the work He opens before me. Even as I struggle in my sixth month of unemployment, the eyes of my heart are being opened to His preparation of new places for me to call home.

I want to go home to sub-Saharan Africa to mentor young boys left as orphans when their parents died due to the AIDS epidemic...

I want to go home to the Amazon River Basin and spend time with the villagers that my local church has been ministering to for years...

I want to build a new home from an old building my church owns, turning it into a healing refuge for those seeking freedom from addiction and a new life with Jesus...

And as this journey continues, I want to be homeless for Him -- and invite others to find their home in Him!