"the problem with men, we are told, is that they don't know how to keep their promises, be spiritual leaders, talk to thier wives, or raise their children. but if they will try really hard they can reach the lofty summit of becoming.... a nice guy. thats what we hold up as models of christian maturity: Really Nice Guys. we dont smoke, drink or swear; that's what makes us men. now let me ask my male readers: in all your boyhood dreams growing up, did you ever dream of becoming a Nice Guy? (ladies, was the Prince of your dreams dashing.... or merely nice?)"
"there are 3 desires i find written deeply into my heart i know now i can no longer disrgard them without losing my soul. they are core to who and what i am and yearn to be (...) in the heart of every man is a desparate desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue."
"aggression is part of the masculine design, we are hardwired for it. if we believe that man is made in the image of God, then we would do well to remember that 'the Lord is a warrior; the Lord is his name' (ex 15:3)"
"Compare your experience watching the latest James Bond or Indiana jones thriller with, say, going to Bible study. The guaranteed success of each new release makes it clear - adventure is written in the heart of a man"
"you see, its not just that a man needs a battle to fight; he needs someone to fight for (...) the battle is never enough; a man yearns for romance. its not enough to be a hero; its that he is a hero to someone in particular, to the woman he loves. Adam was given the wind and the sea, the horse and the hawk, but as God himself said, things were just not right until there was eve."
"there is something fierce... wild... passionate at the heart of every man"
this was written mostly in the context of whats gone a bit wrong in masculinity in the church (and the world) these days.
(and get this - the guy i'm taking notes for at the mo has just brought "max payne 2, a film noir love story (with bullet time!)" - and this is what it says on the back of the box:
"his life in ruins, Max Payne finds himself back on the NYPD. during a rountine murder investigation, he runs into Mona Sax, a woman he thought dead, a femme fatale murder suspect. she holds the keys to the questions that haunt him. but nothing is simple in the dark tragic night of new york city. an army of thugs stand between max and the answers he seeks. his journey deeper into his own personal hell continues. 'you'd have to be a first-degree fool to fall for a woman who returns from the dead only to put a gun to your face' love hurts...")
the bit i got all excited about when i was reading this was something i remember dan c said when he was reading the book. if we are made in the image of God, then the things that we are, are also characteristics of the God who made us.
God wants adventure, he needs to fight, and he wants to fight for something, or more to the point, he wants to fight for someone - and that is his bride, the church, ie you and me. God wants to romance us, fight for us, go on adventure with us (and we're not the adventure, he leads us on the adventure with him).
i've never thought of God that way, as someone who's trying to win our hearts, someone chasing after us, trying to catch our eye. someone who'll fight for us, someone who'll go a bit crazy every now and then.
and at this christmas time, there was that awesome campaign by the church a few years ago (that ben a put up a little while ago too):
jesus - meek and mild? as if.
we've turned God into a Really Nice Guy.
how crap is that?!
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