REDEEMING MANHOOD
June 15, 2008
with Matt Johnson
Intro:
I have always has the understanding that as a man, 99% of who I am is because of decisions I’ve made from the example I’ve seen in my father and the other men in my life. Sometimes it is emulation – I want to be just like him. Sometimes, disappointment – I never want to be like that. I’ve learned a ton from the three most important men in my life. Let me share some of those life lessons with you.
Dad--Learn to laugh at yourself
-Take care of your family.
-Be affectionate to your wife.
-Always make reservations.
-Crying is ok.
-Stand up for what you believe in, even if it’s not the popular view.
-Do it 100% of don’t do it at all.
-The older I get, the better I was.
Grandpa--The Cubs are the only team in baseball worth caring about.
-furthermore, this makes you hate the cardinals, white sox, & especially the 69 Mets.
-Verbalize your love for your family and children.
-Be a peacekeeper.
-Be a friend and you’ll have friends when you’re in need.
-Faith is something that you live, not something you have.
Uncle David-
-A sense of humor will get you much further in life than anger.
-Ministry is about people first and programs second.
-Loving people means that sometimes you get hurt.
-Popularity is fleeting, friendship lasts a lifetime.
In today’s world, it’s hard to be a man. In a world that has fought so hard for gender neutrality, we are now starved for men to be men. There are a lot of times when James Dobson and I don’t so much see eye to eye on life and theology, but there is a commercial on WAKW recently from him that I really resonate with. In it, he says that if this country is to prosper, it will be fully hinged upon the men of this country stepping up to the plate to become the men of spiritual integrity and leadership that we so desperately need. That will hold together families, which will in turn hold together the society. I read another quote this week that I thought echoed this view. A country is only as strong as the faith of it’s churches, the churches no stronger than their families, and their families no stronger than their fathers. There is a lot riding on the shoulders of the men of this world. Being a man is not something to be taken lightly – it is not a title given simply because of biological make up, but because of character, conduct, and integrity that rightly warrants the title. There is a big difference between being a male and a man. God wants desperately to redeem manhood in this world; to make men, men once again; to make them godly leaders of integrity, compassion, and grace; to through the leadership of men bring revival to a hurting and desperate world.
In the story we’ve been following in the book of Ruth, we come to a great example of what it looks like to be a man. More specifically, a Godly man.
Read Ruth 3-Naomi knew the way to get a man’s attention. Get yourself all gussied up and go to him, but don’t let him see you until he’s had a good meal and is in a good mood. We read this and we read such scandal and inappropriateness, as if she’s throwing herself at him in a risqué and sexual manner. This is not accurate for the culture though. In reality, it is much less romantic than we’d like it to be. Boaz has had a tough day working in the grain silo. He eats supper and has a little wine to relax before he falls asleep right there in the barn under a dirty old blanket. Putting in the long hours at the office is not an optional thing for him – there’s a good chance that if he left his grain unwatched it’d get stolen. He’s not there out of comfort, but out of necessity, which probably puts him in a less than chipper mood at times. It’s not like he got showered up and put on his best outfit for the evening. No, he is exhausted from a hard day’s work and lays down to sleep.
-Ruth shows up dressed to the hilt for a barnyard date. This however, is about the extent of the inappropriateness that happens. She slowly approaches Boaz and nestles herself under the foot of his blanket – a sign of the day of complete and humble submission. In doing so, she gently prods Boaz for what is rightfully hers – a husband from the line of her deceased husband and father in law.
-Boaz wakes up in the middle of the night, shocked that there is someone else in the barn with him.
Boaz shows his first signs of being a Godly man – he is patient and peaceful, even in times of shock. I’ve been woke up unexpectedly before in the middle of the night. It’s not one of my more patient moments. All I want to know is why the heck I’m awake and who’s fault it is that my eyes are open when the sun’s not up yet. Boaz though, is patient and understanding with Ruth, ready to have a conversation. How many of you women would love that in a man – a guy who you can wake up in the middle of the night just to talk and he’s OK with it?
The second thing we see about Boaz being a Godly man is that he is respectful of Ruth. She took a great risk in coming to him in this manner. Especially being a foreign woman, her appeal for a husband from the line of Elimileich could have quickly been rejected, and in doing so, she would have also been shunned from Boaz, the man that has been providing food and wellbeing for she and Naomi for the past few months. Furthermore, because she was a foreigner, she risked being even more poorly mistreated, even stoned, and while unlikely, even raped in the isolation of a barn. Boaz, however, treats her with the utmost respect, again praying a blessing over her and recognizing her as a Godly and virtuous woman.
We soon see yet another character of a Godly man from Boaz, as he steps up to the plate to take care of Ruth according to the laws and the culture of the time. According to Mosaic law, it was required that if there was a living male family member remaining of a deceased man, the living family member was required to marry the mans widow if he did not yet have any children. Boaz steps up to the plate to be the “family redeemer” by redeeming Ruth and marrying her, providing her a family and continuing the family bloodlines for another generation. However, in doing so, he does things the honorable way. He knows that there is a man who is a closer relative who has the first responsibility to be Ruth’s redeemer. Should that man choose to not do so, then Boaz will willingly marry Ruth. It’s great to see a man step up to the plate of manhood and fatherhood instead of walking away from it as we so commonly see in today’s society. Boaz’s Godly character continues to show through though, as he sends Ruth home the next morning with a cloak full of grain for she and Naomi.
Finally, we see that Boaz is a man of his word, and a man of action. When Ruth returns to Naomi with grain in hand, she retells the events of the night to her mother in law. No doubt she is nervous and anxious as she awaits the response of the closer male relative and the decision from Boaz to redeem her through marriage. Naomi responds with a comment of confidence in Boaz’ character, saying “don’t worry, the man won’t rest until he has things settled today.” Clearly Boaz is known to be a man of his word and a man who accomplishes what he sets out to do. He is a man of integrity, allowing his word to be his bond and staying true to his commitments.
While obviously not an exhaustive list of what it looks like to be a Godly man, Boaz is a great example of what it looks like to be a man, and not just a male. On father’s day, I think it appropriate that we understand that God is capable of redeeming manhood. He’s capable of transforming lives to make boys into men, and men into leaders for his kingdom purposes. The things I learned about life, I have learned mostly from the men in my life. I have formed my understanding of life, manhood, fatherhood, and what it looks like to be a husband from these men. As a son especially, my understanding of what a father is and does is greatly shaped from my own experience with my dad for better or worse.Because scripture speaks of God as father so regularly, we often cast to God as our heavenly father all of the views of fatherhood that we have acquired from our earthly father, for better or worse.
Too often the view of fathers is that of someone who is occupied or preoccupied. That is to mean that either they are literally occupied and therefore not available because of travel, divorce, separation, or work. Or they are preoccupied and not available because they have more pressing priorities than their family and children, which fall somewhere in the bottom of a priority list after other more “significant” things. Because of this, we often view God as a creator who is just not all that interested in our lives. With this view of God, we begin to shape our view of the entire world around us based on our understanding. God is working to redeem manhood because he wants men to do a better job of reflecting him to this world!
You’ll hear this a lot from me, and probably already have heard it many times, but everything that you do hinges on your view of God. Is he good, is he just, does he care, is he forgiving, what is important to him... How you perceive God will shape your perspective on the world around you. We’ve all had lots of examples of a father – our own, our friends, in the movies, on tv, etc… This fathers day, take the time to get to know your heavenly father a little bit better. Get to know him for him, not the preconceived ideas we have of a father. Open up the word and let him tell you a little bit about himself and get to know him for who he is - Abba – daddy.
