Are you up for a challenge, men? I dare say you are. As men, we are wired for a challenge. We start seeking a challenge as soon as we can walk. I have twins who just turned three. One is a boy and one is a girl. My daughter is quite content sitting in the middle of the floor with a doll and a book while her twin brother runs around her trying to hit her in the head with anything that he can make a sword or a bat. He is wired to conquer something, even if it is his sister. I love seeing this. My job as his father is to point this male energy in the right direction instead of defusing it. I want my sons to grow up confident in the Lord and in the strength he has given them to conquer the battles in their life. God created us physically and emotionally different than women so that we could carry the load of leading and defending. We like a challenge in every area of life. Why do we so often back down from the challenge presented to us in the Word of God?

Scripture is filled with challenges but there is one place in particular I think we need to lean into like no other. Men today need to hear the challenge that God is giving us in 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 as a call to action. 

In these 2 simple verses Paul gives a 5 commands that though addressed to the church at large, are a direct call to men to lead out and accept the challenge. How is the text challenging men today to be a real man for the glory of God? First of all, men need to live alert. This a military term given from a commander to a solider. The idea is that the enemy is approaching so the solider needs to look out and be ready for battle. This is very fitting with the fact that Peter tells us in I Peter 5 that the enemy is like a roaring lion roaming the earth seeking who he can devour. Men, there is a target on your back! Satan wants to take you out so that he can take those under your leadership out. This starts with your marriage. If you haven’t read Jim’s newest book, Guardrails, get a copy as soon as you can and digest it. You need to plan for action today so that you do not fall into enemy hands tomorrow. 

Secondly, men must stand firm. These two words are repeated often throughout the New Testament. In Ephesians 6 when giving the armor of God, we are told to stand firm 3 times. The battle is real but so is the power within the man of God. You and I do not have to give in when temptation comes our way. When you stand with many and when you stand alone, stand firm! You need a brotherhood to help you along the way. 

Next, the man of God has to live with courage. Courage that comes from knowing Christ. Courage is not the absence of fear but the action of faith in the face of fear. The NASB translates this “act like men.” I like that. This is a call to maturity. Don’t be an overgrown boy but a man who faces whatever challenge comes his way knowing that with the help of Christ he can conquer. This goes hand in hand with the next call to “be strong.” I am a firm believer in physical fitness. I think men need to be fit physically to always be up for the task God calls us to. However, this is not talking about reps in the gym or muscles on your body. Inner strength characterizes the man who puts Christ first. Life will hand you stuff you’d rather not face but you know God is making you strong in the process. 

Lastly, the man of God must do everything in love. Never think that love is less masculine. The most manly man who ever walked this planet was the most loving man at the same time. Men, love well! Love God with all that you have, love your wife as Jesus loves the church, and love others tirelessly. 

Are you up for the challenge?