A great song? Maybe not. Men don't fall from the sky or grow on trees. And certainly not godly, faithful, courageous, servants!I came across this account of one man's bringing up of his two sons a few years ago and I rediscovered it this weekend just gone. It provokes me as I set out with the ambition of raising up a Christian man. I don't expect it something I will copy slavishly at all. And of course he is American and the UK is a bit different! But I love it's shape and some of the specific ideas. In case it helps others I am blogging it.
I don't know the family personally, but here is a photo of them (amazing what you can do with Google!). Somehow seeing the people makes a difference. And Lassie too!
God gave me two boys to raise, Ransom and Justin. Ransom is now 14 years old and is already a Christian man. Justin is a Christian boy 12 years old, and is training to become a man before he is 13.[How I Have Helped My Boys to Become Christian Men - Vern S. Poythress Copyright (c) 2005 by Vern Sheridan Poythress.]
What is going on here?
Something special. I believe that God has given to my wife Diane and me a special idea about raising boys, an idea that may be of use to you if you have sons in your family. We have created a special celebration and ceremony to introduce them to Christian manhood. This celebration we call "Bar Jeshua," that is, "son of Jesus." This celebration marks the point at which a boy becomes a man, a mature disciple of Jesus.
Is such a thing weird? We don't think so.
Let me tell you about it.
The Idea and the Challenge
Almost every culture in the world has something to mark the difference between a boy and a man. A boy goes through a "rite of passage," after which he becomes officially a man. The rite of passage may involve an ordeal, a test, or a training period of some kind. The boy who has reached a certain age must kill a crocodile, or train
with a bow and arrow, or go on a long journey alone, or join in a dangerous hunt with the men.
When does a boy become a man in white American culture? When he gets a driver's license? When he graduates from high school? When he moves away from his parents? When he can vote? When he gets his first full-time job? When he is 21? When he gets married? When he owns his own home?
No one can say. There is no clear point of transition. There is no one "rite of passage." One of the unfortunate effects can be that boys are insecure. They don't know when they are men. Again and again they may try to prove that they are "grown up." Sometimes they may choose destructive ways-join a gang, go hotrodding, learn to smoke, get drunk, take a girl to bed.
What do we do to give proper guidance? I know and you know that there is no magic formula. God must be at work in teaching us and our boys, and he must be the one who causes them to grow (1 Cor. 3:7). But you and I can plant and water.
I decided that one way I could help my sons was by showing them what it was to be a man. What is a man? What marks maturity? In the Bible, true maturity does not consist in being able to kill a crocodile! The true maturity is spiritual. It is wisdom in knowing God and his will, and being able to carry it out in your life (Prov. 1:1-7).
I must set an example by my manhood. I must be like Paul, who said, "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:1). That is an awesome challenge. I fail to live up to the biblical standard. But part of being a man is being able to admit it when I fail and then to ask forgiveness.
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