No woman asked me to write this, and yet every one did at the same time. 

One issue I repeatedly encounter is men who are lousy husbands and distant fathers.  I have been trying to think of a nice way to say that but keep landing on the direct approach.  Some men define their manliness by how much beer they can drink, how late they can stay up, and the number of women they can sleep with and not form any emotional connection.  Then those men become fathers who show no interest in their children’s lives.  Mom handles everything while they bring home a paycheck and feel like they have done their fatherly duty.

It is not difficult to see where this thinking originated.  Many of us were raised by men who acted the same way.  We have repeated the model of the generation before us.  This image gets perpetuated in TV shows and movies until everyone thinks it is normal behavior. 

I believe God calls us to so much more.  Men are to lead their homes as strong, courageous, and Godly men.  They follow Jesus and are willing to risk everything to see his will done in their lives and in the lives of those they love.  They love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her.  They raise their children in a way that promotes favor with both God and man.  They take the lead in both teaching and serving in the home.  Men in the Church should be the gold standard of what it means to be a son, husband, and father. 

Last year, I had planned a sermon series directed at men and a day to get together and fellowship.  Covid changed all our plans, and an elder in our Church started a men’s group the first week of January as an alternate idea.  I have been so blessed to sit with these men each Monday night and ask one another questions, study the scriptures together and try to improve as the men of God.  I know this group is not for everyone, but it has me asking a fundamental question, “What are we doing individually to be shaped as Godly men more than being molded by the culture around us?” The world does not need another absent father or distant husband. It requires men of God who shine their light into a dark world and make the world a better place for all, starting at home.