Powerful Men in a Passive Culture

by: Newbie

            A man living fully out of his passion can be a powerful weapon in the kingdom of God. Since we were young boys we have hungered for power. We have all had fantasies of being Superman, Spiderman, some invincible hero. Playing games where we vanquish our enemies, conquer the unconquerable, save the day, make the touchdown, change the world – all have been, in one form or another, our hunger for power.

            The problem as Christian men is that we are told there is something wrong with that. And sometimes there is. Our passion to change the world or be the hero might come out in unhealthy patterns of relating. We become manipulative, or have an over active fantasy life. Or we like throwing our weight and power around with anger or money or position. Work, home, play, and how well our team does all become reflections of our personal influence on the world.

            But wanting and having power as Christian men isn’t wrong. In fact, to deny our power is to push away from our very essence and calling. To try and be ‘not powerful’ would be like water trying not to be wet. Wetness is the very essence of water. It can’t be anything else. Neither can we be anything else other than men. Our battle is one of being fully human, fully male, in a way that is authentic to who we were created by God to be – fully reflecting the image of Christ. “The glory of God is a man fully alive”.

            If we are honest, really honest with ourselves, how many of us would say we are living fully alive? Most would admit we do well if we survive and get by – pay the bills, feed the family, try to have some kind of meaningful relationship with our wives, talk to our kids, and crash in bed at night. And then we get up and do the same thing the next day. Isn’t there more to life than living for that one or two days off on the weekend?  We think to ourselves “To be fully alive, to embrace our passion with all of our being sounds like too much work, too much like work”.

            A man living life from what he is passionate about can transform the world. Remember Michael Jordon? Who doesn’t! He was one of the most gifted basketball players in the world – ever. Then he retired and tried baseball. And he was good at baseball, maybe even above average. But he wasn’t like he was when he played basketball. Watching the man soar through the air with a reverse dunk that seemed to hover him for minutes above the court was literally like poetry in motion. There was a magic when he played - something almost divine in his style. When Jordon played basketball, he went beyond dominating, beyond awesome. He was playing from his true center. He was man doing what he was meant to do. And it showed. He played with passion.

            Powerful is the man who has found his passion, his calling, what he was meant to do for the Lord. Living from the center of his being, from the place God resides, he pursues with all himself the destiny God put in him from his creation. God reflects in his life because he is alive, not because he is consciously trying to reflect God. Being a Christian replaces doing Christian things. He lives authentically. ‘He is’ as he follows the great ‘I AM’. Power emanates from the presence of God, not the position or possessions of a man. God is glorified because a man is truly alive, because he is - the very image of God.

            Are you ready to stop surviving? Are you willing to live fully alive? Learn what it means to move away from the comfortable, and out to the Outside Edge.

© 2007 Mike and Laura Ege, www.OutsideEdgeCoaching.com

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