When is a Man a Man? When are you finally able to say ”now I am a real Man?”
Have you ever asked yourself these questions as a man? I for sure did…
For most of my own life, I was looking for the answer to that question. I wanted so bad to be a man, and I was looking to one day finally being a real man. But do you ever arrive at ”being a man”? If so, when is that point? And when not? What marks that point when you finally are a real man?
I was looking for the answer to these questions for many years, driven by the longing to be a real man. As I was on the way with Jesus, He showed me some surprising things in His word about being a real man.
Jesus showed me that becoming a man is not a point where I arrive at one day, when I finally meet a certain set of criteria. But that it is much more a journey that I will not finish in this life. He showed me how it is not about ”when do I finally arrive” – but about ”how far can I go (or grow)”!
That changed everything for me. After my new birth I am already the man God created me to be in my new born spirit, I am already a real man after God’s heart. Now, it’s all about how far can I go in becoming the man of God that He created me to be; the one I already am in my new born spirit!
Jer. 17,7-8 paints a powerful picture of a man that lives by faith in God being like a tree that is planted by rivers of water. There is so much in this about us becoming the man God created us to be:
A tree is a tree from the moment the seed sprouts forth, and it’s kind and nature is determined by the nature of the seed.
I am born again out of the seed of the word of God, the same seed like Jesus Himself was born of. That means I am by birth and nature already the kind of man God created me to be in my new born spirit. (1.Pet. 1,23)
A tree goes through different stages as it is growing, and is becoming the tree it already is.
I am now in the process of becoming that man I already am, and there are steps and stages to that process of transformation – it is a journey! (Rom. 12,1-2)
A tree never stops growing! It always is growing a bigger trunk, deeper roots and bears fruits – it’s all about ”how far, much and big can I grow” for a tree. During it’s entire life, it’s getting stronger. The same is true for me as a man: How far can I grow in becoming the Jesus-like man I am created to be?!
You can even see Jesus going through the process of growth in Lk. 2,52, where it says that He was increasing in wisdom, stature and favor with God and men.
Having that perspective has set me free from the fear of never becoming a real man. It has also taken away the limits for me as a man of God, I want to find out how far I can go in this life, how much I can grow into the man God created me to be. It is an exciting journey!
There is also no guilt, condemnation and comparison anymore about where I am as a man. It is OK where I am at currently, as long as I just keep going. In the same time, I am all the time called to go higher, there is always more for me as a man to grow into!
More character, more strength, more vision, more faith, more adventure, more mission! More growth, stronger trunk, deeper roots, more and better fruits!
God has an exciting lifetime of growth for you and me as born again son’s of God, where it is all about ”how far can I go” – not about ”when do I arrive”.
Berets of Light 