Saturday morning I attended a conference put on by FamilyLife called Stepping Up. Here’s the description from FamilyLife: “On Saturday, August 4, Dennis Rainey, along with James MacDonald, Robert Lewis, and Crawford Loritts, will unpack what biblical manhood looks like and what it means to be a godly, courageous man in today’s world. They’ll help men understand their biblical roles and the responsibilities they have to fulfill those roles. They’ll show men what it means to lead at home, at work, and in the community. They’ll discuss why men need the accountability of other men on the journey of manhood. And they’ll explain why being passive is not an option.”
The conference was better than I anticipated and challenged me in a few areas of my life. Each of the speakers was very different in their approach and content, but were each able to pass on true wisdom, applicable to all men. What was the common denominator that each man relied on for this wisdom? It was the Bible, commonly referred to by Christians as “God’s Word”. Each of these leaders based their teaching on a passage from the Bible. They read it out loud, it was printed in the conference materials and they applied the passage to how men should be living their lives. This same pattern is repeated in my life each Sunday in my home church in Plover, Wisconsin and hopefully, in churches I visit when traveling.
Why should we care what the Bible says about life? What do we rely on when we are faced with decisions about life? Public opinion? If you look at any polls in the United States of America today, about half the people disagree with the other half on just about any given topic. Who’s right and who’s wrong? Who’s advice should I take? Our nation places a high value on education, with over 85% of the population graduating from high school and over 25% graduating with a college degree. There are thousands of business and self-improvement books published each year. I recently subscribed to a book summary service because there are too many for me to read and stay current in my profession. There is an audience for truth and there is segment of the population offering their version of truth. So, again, why should we care what one book says about life?
We should care because the “God’s Word” reference is accurate. There are authors more skilled than me in defending this point, the most recent being Tim Keller in “The Reason for God“, specifically chapter 7, so I won’t spend time doing so. I accept that basic truth and recommend you seriously consider it yourself. If I accept the fact that the Bible is God’s Word and he gave it to us to use as a text book for our life, then I need to read it. Not just read it, but study it and use it as a reference book when needed. We are so fortunate in the USA to have so many Bibles to choose from, paper, electronic and audio, many of them free. Take advantage of these resources. Start reading what God has to tell you about how you should be living your life. This is especially true if you are a man with a family. You have a responsibility like no other to lead your wife, your children and hopefully some day your grandchildren. Wouldn’t you like some direction, some guidance, some wisdom in helping you with that crucial role? Don’t just rely on other men for that, rely on the truth and rely on men who believe in that truth, live out that truth and can help you apply that truth to your life.
Take time today and tomorrow and the next day and start a new habit of learning what God has to say to you about how you should be living your life. If you don’t read it how will you know what you should do? If you aren’t a reader, then get an audio Bible and listen to it. Read it to your children so they get the benefit as well as you. In addition to reading the Bible every day I also recommend you find someone who is older than you, more mature than you and wiser than you who also reads God’s Word every day and ask them if you can meet on a regular basis, at least a few times a month. If you can’t find someone in your community you might want to consider FamilyLife’s online mentoring program called eMentoring. See my earlier blog on getting started reading the Bible. I pray that you are impacted as positively as I have been by this active choice.
(Here’s a cool blog on what to use to make notes in your Bible: http://souldesaenz.wordpress.com/what-to-use-for-writing-in-your-bible/. I’m going to have to get some of these pens.)
MarcJMartin, Following Christ Through Life 