We have seen those “Wanted” posters at the Post Office and on TV with Matt Dillon. However, we are talking about a “poster” that calls for the qualities of real men, not thieves and killers!
This world has always needed real men – men who have the kind of courage that enables them to do what is right without being influenced by what the news gurus say – or even the President thinks. A “real man” need not be told what is “OK” today; with Bible in hand, he thinks for himself without the “politically correct” crowd’s backing.
Many of us have known good men like the above. Perhaps they were our own fathers or grandfathers. For us to have such memories and to have grown up with their examples before us would be a great blessing. They may have been the reason many of you are faithful to the Lord this very day. If they are still living, do what you can to thank them and to remember the times in which their influence was great for you.
On this day dedicated to fathers around the world, we want to give our sincere thanks to our fathers, knowing how difficult it is to be a father today. Our culture is sending out mixed signals on fatherhood, and many are confused by the new political correctness that drives so many families and individuals.
An unknown author has penned the following thoughts.
The World Needs Men
The world today is looking for men who are not for sale; men who are honest, sound from center to circumference, true to the heart’s core; men with consciences as steady as a needle to the pole; men who will stand for the right if the heavens totter and the earth reels; men who can tell the truth and look the world right in the eye; men who neither brag nor run; neither flag nor flinch; men who can have courage without shouting; men in whom the courage of everlasting life runs still, deep and strong; men who know their message and tell it; men who know their place and fill it, and men who know their business and attend to it.
All of us have known of such men, if only by reading about their lives and their deeds in the history books. “Real men” have led nations and men effectively, and done so in ways that were just and fair.
In the Bible we can read of men like Daniel, Micaiah, Elijah, Jesus, and Paul. Think of what Noah must have experienced in the years he sought to save man from the flood. No one had seen rain, much less a flood, and it must have sounded foolish to listen to Noah. But he did not “flag nor flinch,” rather being faithful to the task God gave him.
Such men need not be oblivious to the world and its problems in order to be “real men.” We must be able to “think straight,” and use the good sense God has given us, and the guts to do what is right even when neighbors, friends and associates disagree.
In the far-flung parts of our world today there are those who are risking their lives to eliminate terrorism and bring about justice. But for many of us it is easier to just “stay out of their business” and let them fight their battles alone.
I am very much aware that there are many factors to consider. Perhaps we do not have all the facts. That is the excuse made by too many today, those who could be a solution to a problem, but who sit on the sidelines and “watch.”
Elijah did not sit on the sidelines when a man named Naboth was being robbed of his property by Ahab and Jezebel, 1 Kings 21. He rebuked them at the risk of his own life, knowing the power of the King. He told Ahab:
“I have found thee: because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord,” 1 Kings 21:20
Some may have said, “It’s none of my business,” but not Elijah. His entire life was wrapped around his confrontations with Ahab and Jezebel, whose very names are synonymous with greed and wickedness.
We need men like Elijah today in our houses of Congress, teaching in our schools, serving in our local governments, and living in the neighborhoods that need them most. Are there risks? Does such courage carry with it some danger? Yes, of course it does! That is why we need the kind of men mentioned earlier – “meninwhom the courage of everlasting life runs still, deep and strong.” They will not run when trouble comes, but will stand in the face of Satan and his emissaries and rebuke them!
You may be small in physical stature and halting in your words, but one man – one real man – can do good that will not be forgotten, either by God or man.
Does your neighbor need to hear the gospel story? Have your work-mates ever heard of Christ and His church? Have you ever told your boss the truth of God’s word? Will it take courage to approach any of them? Why not wrap yourself in the courage of Elijah and the honesty of Noah? Neither is a quality to be wasted. Dads, grandfathers, men, make full use of yours!
