God created us as male and female and declared his creation as very good. As such, there’s something good and worthy of praise inherent within our design as men. Our manhood is worth celebrating because it’s part of God’s good creation.
Like many things, we have a propensity to mess stuff up. Sin perverts our original glory and we don’t use our masculine strength as God intended.
Some become bullies and tyrants – pushing their agenda without care or concern for the wellbeing of others.
And, at the other extreme, are those who come to despise their masculinity. They see it as toxic and want nothing to do with it.
And still many others fall somewhere in between. They don’t want to abuse their strength, but they’re unsure how to wield it with honor as well. They end up apologizing often and adopting a false guilt for their masculinity.
Celebrating our manhood is not suggesting we’re perfect and don’t still have room to grow individually. There’s much still not as it should be.
Nor is it accepting cultural stereotypes and caricatures as the ultimate standard of masculinity.
Certainly, there’s much we can learn from enduring traditions. They’ve endured for a reason and are likely pointing to deep truths, however shallowly applied on the surface.
Celebrating our manhood is honoring a masculine embodied presence and way of being in the world without apology.
It’s through the blood, sweat, and tears of our manhood that we fight for what matters, plant seeds of life and goodness, and build our homes and communities all to bless others.
The fullness of our redeemed masculinity is needed in order to experience the very good God created us to enjoy.
Celebrate your manhood by first accepting it as part of God’s good creation.
Photo by Charlie Howell on Unsplash
