A letter of hope

I haven’t blogged in a few weeks, mostly because I haven’t felt God inspire me to write about anything in particular.

However, the Lord moved on my heart this week.

I was listening to a sports radio show, and the host was talking about seeing firsthand the ‘rock star’ lifestyle that athletes live. He alluded that although he doesn’t condone extra-marital affairs and having children with multiple women, that’s just the way it is.

“If you think your favorite athlete wouldn’t do that, you’re kidding yourself,” he said.

The segment really resonated with the book I’m currently reading, “The Resolution for Men,” written by the directors of the latest Sherwood Baptist movie “Courageous.”

I’m only in the third chapter, but the directors, who also are pastors, authors, husbands and fathers, make a direct correlation of fatherless children (whether by divorce, abandonment or mom not knowing who the dad is) to teenage suicide, drug abuse, not finishing high school and going to prison.

They weren’t just making it up, either. They were citing respected research.

I wrote about this topic more than a month ago after seeing “Courageous,” so I won’t write the same message about the need to stop being a good enough father and striving to be a godly father.

But I will say that early on in the book they point out that there is a group of men – some single, some married, some fathers, some grandfathers – who recognize that God is calling them to lead their wives and children in a manner that glorifies Him.

Before you even open the first page of the book, the authors warn the reader that the book is not for the faint of heart and meant for men who will resolve to follow God’s call to be men of Biblical integrity.

After taking a deep breath and saying a short prayer, I turned to the first page of chapter one. At that moment, I was resolving to put good enough aside and go for more.

And as I read that first chapter, I felt encouraged that there are men, strong men, who are leading their homes; who are instilling Biblical values in their children; who are serving in their churches and communities; who are living for the Jesus not just at home but also at their workplaces.

A couple verses from Proverbs really stick out about the qualities of these men.

“The man of integrity walks securely, but he who takes crooked paths will be found out,” from 10:9; and “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth,” from 17:24.

These also are the type of men described in Deuteronomy 6:6-9, which says “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.”

These also are the type of men that other men should look to as earthly examples. I am extremely thankful for the men in my life who I can look at and see integrity, leadership and the love of Jesus and scripture.

There also are men in my life who aren’t fulfilling their role as God has called them. Most of these men are good men: they are faithful to their wives and love their children. But they don’t realize that being a Biblical leader means being a faithful follower of Christ.

As I grow in faith and continue to surround myself with men of God, I feel a weight on my heart to lovingly approach those men in my life who haven’t seen Jesus for what He is: the savior who was born some 2,000 years ago, having left heaven; lived a perfect life; was crucified; died on the cross to bear the sins of all mankind; and was raised from the dead by our Father in heaven.

All who believe in this truth for the forgiveness of their sins will have eternal life and it will radically change the rest of the days, weeks, months or years you have on earth.

I pray that it also radically changes the way they see the role God has given them as a man.