The masculine in Christian life.

One of the problems with the effete ideas we have around Christian life is that we deny masculinity in many ways. We don’t want to think about training. We do not want to think about risk, about conflict and we sure don’t want to think about training.

We deny the role of fathers while exalting motherhood. This may be a reaction to the liberals, who chose to make abortion free, and prefer to have only one or two “red diaper” babies, because the revolution is more important. That should not be so among us. We need to raise our children, and the way to do that is within the family. And the role of the father is one of training: of discipline, balancing love with accountability. The tendency we have as men to be hard and uncompromising is balanced by our love and concern: without it we become harsh.

And the tendency to protect — which most mothers have — and to care, which most mothers have — means that they are less likely to let men and women take risks, get hurt, and learn. It is far better for this to happen before hormones and stupidity (also known as adolescence) occurs. But training is the task of both parents, and it often takes both of them to do it well.

But this will be opposed. The armor we put on is to deal with spiritual issues: but that is what it is: Paul is talking about the components of the equipment of the Roman army, but the same issues apply now.
And anyone who denies that we are in a war is foolish. It is far better to train hard and have a chance of winning than be unfit at the time of trial.

I remarked earlier of the carnage that must've been left 2 deal w/after #DDay70 note there was ALSO a #Catholic Mass pic.twitter.com/VnqHvQWMbf

— Mike Church (@TheKingDude) June 6, 2014

For we are not called to be cowards, but courageous.

Ephesians 6:1-24

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²“Honor your father and mother” – this is the first commandment with a promise: ³“so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.”

⁴And, fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

⁵Slaves, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as you obey Christ; ⁶not only while being watched, and in order to please them, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. ⁷Render service with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not to men and women, ⁸knowing that whatever good we do, we will receive the same again from the Lord, whether we are slaves or free.

⁹And, masters, do the same to them. Stop threatening them, for you know that both of you have the same Master in heaven, and with him there is no partiality.

¹⁰Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹²For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ¹³Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. ¹⁵As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. ¹⁶With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. ¹⁹Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

²¹So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus will tell you everything. He is a dear brother and a faithful minister in the Lord. ²²I am sending him to you for this very purpose, to let you know how we are, and to encourage your hearts.

²³Peace be to the whole community, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴Grace be with all who have an undying love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now, we are called to pray, using the grace of the Holy Spirit, as we do these things. But that requires that we stand. That requires that we are equipped. And this is what the church used to do. I’m one of the few people who does look at the cathecism but I have not memorized it: in older times children learned this before they started their apprenticeship.

And here lies half the problem in the church. We think that we can just automatically be good and it will not require training. That is not so. If I do not go to the gym I will become injured again (because strength is required when you are as hyperflexible as I am to prevent twisted and bruised joints) and in the same way if we do not practice and teach how to deal with temptation, how to pray, and how to fill ourselves with the word of God we will not have the skills when we need them.

As a church we need to rediscover these things. If that means we talk to the traditionalists who are so rigid and crunchy, so be it. Because the mainstream prefers the couch to the weight room. And we need the weight room, the trails, and the practice of spiritual and physical fitness.

We are all called to obedience. We are all called to live righteously in the roles we find ourselves in — even in slavery. And we all need to have the discipline of a soldier: for no soldier is allowed to neglect his training.