Be a Man!: Becoming the Man God Created You to Be by Fr. Larry Richards

Author:Fr. Larry Richards [Richards, Fr. Larry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Religion, Christian Life, Inspirational, Men's Issues, Relationships, Spiritual & Religion
ISBN: 9781586174033
Google: xRdS-SbxGzoC
Amazon: 1586174037
Publisher: Ignatius Press
Published: 2009-01-15T07:00:00+00:00

If we are going to be men of Christ, then we must follow in the footsteps of Christ. That will always lead us to the cross. It is easy to say, “I’ll sacrifice my life for God”, but it is so much harder to follow through every day. In my own life, I often talk a great game, but I don’t live a great game. I need to ask God to change my heart more and more each day, so I can live for Him and not for myself—but this is a process.

Isn’t it funny that the things we don’t want to do sometimes, like work out every day, eventually make us so much stronger? The same is true in our relationships. When you do something you don’t want to do for your wife or kids, it makes you stronger. The sacrifice, though, has to be in concrete ways.

If I were to go to your home and ask your wife, “How does your husband sacrifice for you daily?” could she give me a list? If I were to ask your kids, would your kids say, “I know my dad lives for me. My dad gives me time every day. He asks me how I am.”

My father would take me out every year for my birthday. It would be just my dad and me. He would buy me a gift, and then we’d have lunch together. My dad wasn’t a perfect man, but he was still the best man he could be and I knew that he loved me. He put my needs in front of his own as best as he could. The more you sacrifice, the greater you will be.

Obedience is the next aspect to becoming strong. First Samuel 15:22 says, “To obey is better than sacrifice.” If we are going to grow strong, we need to be people who obey the Lord. The best example is Jesus. He struggled to sacrifice Himself. The night he was arrested he said, “My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou will” (Mt 26:39). Obedience is better than sacrifice. I used to tell my students all the time, “Gentlemen, the only way you can prove you love God, and know this, gentlemen, is to obey Him. Period!” You can say you love God. You can say Jesus is Lord. But if you don’t obey Him, you are a liar. Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Take His Word and live it.

One of my former students joined the Marines. I recently saw him, but didn’t recognize him because I had not seen him in a while. When he was a student, he was this little, skinny youth. Now the kid, with one hand, could throw me against the wall. I said to him, “What the heck happened to you?”

“The Marines, Father”, he said. This little, thin teenager became this big Marine. How do Marines turn boys into men? Discipline and obedience.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.