The World's Strongest Man....

Over the last couple months, it seems that many of my conversations with men of my stereotype and age have been have been dominated by a single topic. What does a strong man look like?

If I were to look at our world's current view, this man should have the capability to pull a bus up hill using his teeth and he should be able to pick up an Honda Accord and walk around the block (Source: ESPN). He should be able to take a beating and get up on his own. He should be able to take a cussing and give one when needed, work nonstop to provide the material necessities needed to get through life and never ever show any emotion whatsoever!!

Where on earth did we get these ideas? Let me ask a few questions? What about the man who skips a meal so his kids and cows can eat? What about the man who tithes when he has no income? What about the man who humbly declines from unneeded conflict? What about the man who is criticized publicly for spreading the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ? What about the man who tells another man he loves him (brotherly)?  How many times have we seen these things in real life and our reaction has been "He's a Sissy", "What a Wus" or "He'd make a good girl"??

Where do these men get their strength? Dare I say that the first does not derive his strength from the Lord. Lets recall the story of Goliath - who was still susceptible to blunt force trauma (notice clause).  David, a teenager at the time came into a conflict with a giant, but he came in the name of the Lord - his source of strength (notice lack of clause). Even though Goliath was monstrous (on earth) and had an arsenal of weapons, he fell due to a teenager strengthened by God! (1 Samuel 17) This is a perfect example of why to not  derive our "strength" from worldly items.  How about Samson (Judges 13-16)? He was a man set apart by God and blessed with phyiscal strength beyond compare, then he allowed his self to be persuaded to worldly sin. In doing so, he rejected God and was overtaken by men  of less strength!!  What would have been Samson's outcome, had he fixed his eyes on God and not gave way to sin?? (He later realigns his faith for the Glory of God!!)

The typical man of today - if statistics are correct-- and they are -- does not derive his strength from the Lord, nor does he lay his life down for his wife, lead his family spiritually, teach his children the way of the Lord and most likely never proclaims the fact that Jesus arose on the third day! Is there any doubt as to why we as men fail continually?? If your fixin to stand up and defend how successful your career is - don't bother!! Those dollar signs prove little to me!! At what point does this trend change? It changes when men of Christ unite and stand up for the Gospel so that they may prove time and again that strength is not related to how much you can bench press. It changes when the Christian man strives to live a life pleasing to God for the world to see. One that allows his wife, family and friends -- and complete strangers -- to see Christ doing work through him!! That's when it changes!! Notice it starts with the man who is already a Christian! I agree, we must encourage non-believers to seek Christ, but if they can't see Christ in me, how am I to convince them they need a Savior??

So, What's my point(s)??  As a Christian man - don't lose sight of what a man is called to be (Christ-like)! As a Christian man, ensure those around you that you gain strength from the Lord, and not a bottle of pills and protein shakes!! As a Christian man, in the face of adversity, proclaim the Gospel! As a non-Christian man, understand this, you are but a hollow shell without the presence of the Lord in your heart, and are sure to fall, and if you fall, so will those who depend on you!! You cant drink enough Muscle Milk and bench press enough to get into heaven!! Just like Goliath, the "unbeatable" will be beaten!!

A note to those who depend on a Christian man.... Encourage them in their effort to seek first the Kingdom of God and gain TRUE strength, and understand this - God does Bless his followers - but it most likely won't be with wealth!!