Man Up!

"So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:11 ESV)

Referenced Scriptures: Romans 6:11, Ephesians 5:22-32, 1 Corinthians 13:11

Dead to sin; what exactly does this mean? Well, recently God gave some revelation on this and yet to some it may seem so obvious some of us are a bit more hard-headed. I had often read this portion of scripture and it never really clicked until recently. What Paul was saying, through divine inspiration, is that we must see ourselves as dead to sin; meaning we no longer have to give into every earthly desire we have. Wait...what!? You mean I don't have to look at porn like all the other guys at my work do, I don't have to spend my free time playing video games and completely ignore my wife, you mean I don't have to lie about any thing and everything just because everyone else does? This was as I said, so obvious, yet I had missed it for so many years.

You see when God showed this to me it was as if the lights had come on and I verbally said out loud, "I don't have to give into this anymore." The realization of what Christ did came flooding to me once again, full force, and with a new revelation. For many years I had seen how (so called Men) act towards their wives and women in general and it left something to be desired. Something just didn't seem right. Husbands and Fathers would spend an insane amount of time on hobbies (i.e. - music, sports, drinking, guys night out, porn, etc) and completely neglect the family they had at home. Now, I am not blaming anyone for anything I am just saying I have observed this and if it wasn't for God's grace I too could have gone down very similar paths. To be transparent and real I have looked down some of these paths more often then I care to admit, but God is so good, and His grace and mercy kept me and continues to keep me.

So what's the point? Well, my point is this; if you call yourself a Christian and remember 76% of all Americans love to wear this title; then men start acting like real Christ-like men. Now if you can stand there and honestly say you have been being all the husband/father you can be; then terrific, keep up the good work! Let's check out Paul's letter to the Church at Ephesus (read Ephesians 5:22-32). Men & Women, if you are indeed married, are a professing Christians and you do not strive for what is described here then we know that something is off. Get before God and just be honest with Him. When I had to do the same thing my prayer went something like this, "Lord, there is no way I can live up to these standards in my own strength. Help me to be all that she needs me to be all that You have called me to be. It is only through Your grace and mercy that I can even begin to do this."

Now, I am not saying I am the perfect husband but I am saying I know I'm not where I need to be but thank God I'm not where I used to be. It's time we put away childish things and be the men that God has called us to be. So where has your free time been spent lately? Think about it and I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul (divinely inspired), "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." (1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV)

Take Care & God bless

-E