Being a man

My father is currently serving a life sentence for murdering the mother of my half sister.  She was 5 years old then: she’s 24 now. I’ll be 30 this year.  My father was so distant from me, that I have no memory of a conversation between he and I that did not occur in the visitation room of some prison (and these are recent).    I say all this in response to a post called “Being a Man”, because today more than in any other era or time, fathers are not passing on to their sons the answer to their deepest yet most central questions about being a man: Daddy, what is a man?…Am I a man?…and Daddy, If I am a man, am I a good one?  I have drawn from strong men around me: those to whom God has led me to.  My heart breaks when those who are genuinely Godly men, still struggle with these questions.  Though we may not enjoy pasttimes that are similar, we are men.  Our acceptance of responsibility, our committment to a Christ-Like life: these make us men.  Now, my wife is expecting the birth of our first child this October: since my father went the route he did so long ago, I have longed for a son of my own.  We went to the doctor 3 weeks ago and it is indeed a boy!  So much I long to give him.  If he grunts, then great! If he doesn’t, then praise the Lord anyhow, because I WILL BE THERE!  I will not shrink back from my responsibilities of raising him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  I am excited!  If I could literally pour my self into him, I would.

This post was inspired by the post of another young man who had questions about being masculine in the sense of one who grunts and loves contact sports, etc.