Men need to fight for what they love
Most of us have lost a lot in life. As kids we get picked on and we lose our sense of safety. As teenagers, we get acne and lose our clear skin. As adults, we may lose our jobs or our homes or even our families. And as we get older, we lose our good looks and eventually our health.
But that’s just the beginning; under such an onslaught, we can begin to lose our hope. We can begin to see ourselves as losers. We may lose our way in life and lose our connection to God.
And if we ever have designs on getting it back, the enemy of our souls will
contend with us for it. If, for example, you’ve lost relationships with family members, it will cost you to get them back. Your fight won’t be with your fists – you’ll have to pray. You’ll have to humble yourself. You’ll have to pay a price.
contend with us for it. If, for example, you’ve lost relationships with family members, it will cost you to get them back. Your fight won’t be with your fists – you’ll have to pray. You’ll have to humble yourself. You’ll have to pay a price.
Jesus tells us that the kingdom of God is costly. We have to be prepared to fight. Traditionally men especially have had the role of protecting the family. But the problem in our modern society is that we neuter our men and ask our women to do the fighting. We turn men into couch potatoes content to watch others fight on TV.
Danny Stinson wrote a blog asking men the question: What are you fighting for?
What
is your cause? What drives you? What gets you up in the
morning? What makes your heart come alive? What
is God calling you to spend your warrior passions on? Your calling, your
battle must come from the Lord.Maybe you are meant to fight for time
with God. Maybe you are meant to fight for your
friends. Maybe you are meant to
fight for your wife. Maybe you are
meant to fight for the truth of what God says about you. Whatever the
calling, once you decide
to step out, that yearning from deep
inside
your soul will come alive.Why
do we men love great battle movies? Why do we love to watch Gladiator,
Braveheart, 300? Each movie speaks to the warrior inside
of us. Each movie stirs our
spirits to step off the sideline and into the fight. They give us a
taste of the freedom living out how we were
created. I
don’t want to wander through life anymore. I don’t want to be passive
and allow years to pass, and then
look back on those years and think to myself, “Oh what could have been.” I
want to be a warrior, a fighter
everyday of my life.What are you fighting for?
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1. My wife and sons!
2. The Kingdom of God
3. My Generation!
When God himself spread wide his arms to embrace the world with love, he received–instead of an acknowledgment of his majesty–three nails through his hands and feet. Thus did His bearing of our injustice demonstrate for us how to bear the burdens of this life.
With all the destruction that is going on in the world today, there is no more potent battle to be waged than opposing the ever-widening plume of evil with His message of love.
However each man and woman is called to do that, I know not, but each one must seek to know his/her particular mission and then live it out.
No matter what you do, at the end of each person’s battle is death; but following that defeat is resurrection. He proved it, and you gotta believe it.
I mean, what else is there, when all is said and done?
If we do not receive, and then communicate, his good news about eternal life–then we are Lost,like the people on tv, who are not real, although we are manipulated to believe they are.
Awesome!
I am fighting against hopelessness and failure. Fighting for love in ALL places. And I am fighting, in a good way, standing strong, for peace, in myself, relationships and in the broader community and world. I believe one person can and does make a difference.
Is it not true to say then that if they dont fight for it then they dont really love “it”? What drives a person into a burning building to rescue their kids…love, what drives a person to go to extreme lengths for someone else….love…..so maybe the problem is not that they cant or wont fight maybe its because they dont really love?
Thanks for this reminder Seth. I am fighting for a number of things and took the time to inventory them today:
1. Our children who are fighting for their futures.
2. The Kingdom of the Living God.
3. Personal dreams which were nearly snatched away.
4. A handful of lifetime friends who need encouragement.
5. My family of origin and those suffering with illness.
The quality of our fight is in direct proportion to the “surrender” in our heart to the command of Jesus in our life.
That is the daily salute.
Appreciate you.
Im fighting to learn to love.To keep reaching out even though people mock you within earshot,and curse your name. Im Warring for a world where thier is no sexual abuse of any sort.A place where its o.k. to talk about the things we wrestle with,for a church thats not afraid to talk about the deprevity thats in the world and pray against it before it happens.A church where pastors dont say I never want to here you mention that again,when youve come for prayer and counsel.Moreover Im fighting to let the LORD deeper in my heart.Even when he ask me to do tough things.I too am fighting for the kingdom.
IN CHRIST,
hugh
Kathy Pride’s comment speaks to me. I am fighting to step out of God’s way, to stop taking on roles He never intended for me. It has meant humility and accepting some things that are uncomfortable to me, to the humanness that desires certain things in life which are not bad in and of themselves but that have the capacity to consume my thoughts and efforts, making me less useful to God’s kingdom.
And really, that is what my heart is fighting for: God’s kingdom to come in my heart, home, and my circle of influence. The beauty is as I’ve relinquished the roles not intended for me, He has given me perfect roles to fill that are far better than any I could have imagined.
Thanks Seth, this is a great thought to ponder.