Manning Up
Be strong. Let your heart be
strengthened; wait for the LORD! —Psalm 27:14
This is a pep talk David gave to himself—all
the verbs are singular.
Paul quotes this text, putting a more
precise spin on it: "Be a man, be made strong; Let all that
you do be done in love" (1 Corinthians 16:13, 14). It's one of my favorite
texts.
If you were to ask me why I'm a follower
of Jesus I'd be hard-pressed to name all the reasons, but one resides right
here: I follow Jesus because I want to become a man.
Clap me on the back and say, "Be a
man," and I will square my shoulders and try to man up, for no one has to
tell me what it means to be a man: Men are "trustworthy, loyal,
helpful, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and
reverent," to pull up the old Boy Scout Code. They are “physically strong,
mentally alert and morally straight.”
Paul adds another trait: Men are loving,
which, as it turns out, is the greatest show of strength and the most
important attribute of all (cf., 1 Corinthians 13).
I know what I ought to be and I want to
do better, but I need help. That's where Jesus comes in. I must
"wait" for Him—ask Him to make me into the man I want to be. That's
my prayer, all through the day.
“Waiting,” however, implies delay. It
takes time to become a man—indeed, a lifetime. I'm still trying to get there.
David Roper
5.18.17
