reclaiming manhood

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love (Ephesians 4: 1-16).

Again, the Word of God read is often more powerful than I ever dreamed. The first verse calls us to walk in a way that reflects the calling of our lives. This is significant, because it requires us to know what we are called to do, and then to allow that calling to permeate every part of our lives. I am called to be a pastor, a teacher, a writer, a missionary. I must live in a way that my life reflects this, from what I read to what I spend my money on.

Then, He gives me the outlines of my calling: to disciple the church in a way that promotes unity, maturity, and an intimate knowledge of God (note: these are interconnected; therefore, we cannot say 'Don't teach that because it will cause disunity' if the subject in question is scriptural). Likewise, we see a picture of how to grow a healthy church - by individual people growing in unity, maturity, and in intimacy with Christ! It all comes down not simply to our practices and methodology, but to the theology that drives that!

I want to use part of this passage as I teach my Sunday School class about manhood this spring. Manhood must be defined ONLY as striving toward our identities in Christ, not simply as machoism and football.