Mansfield's Book of Manly Men by Stephen Mansfield

Author:Stephen Mansfield
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2013-09-01T04:00:00+00:00

I cannot think of a more moving story of failure and restoration than this one from the life of Mark. That it is from the pages of the Bible and that it challenges some of our assumptions about the ideal of the first-century church makes me love it even more.

Mark’s story is for both men and women, of course, but it touches me most as a window into some of what it means to be a man. Life in this fallen world is risky and dangerous. Losses will come. Failures will happen. Our journey will not be a constant, joyful, upward ascent.

Because of what a man is meant to be for his family, his society, and his God, he cannot allow failure and loss to destroy him. He should live knowing that such seasons are possible, and he should have a firm grasp on the truth that will help him rebuild.

First, he has to know he is destined. He can rise again from any depth of destruction because he knows his life is defined by something more powerful than his own sin or stupidity. It is powered by the purpose determined for him by his God.

Second, he has to acknowledge his folly. Call it repentance. Call it “hanging a lantern on your weaknesses.” Call it brokenness or humility. Whatever we call it, realizing we are not as we should be and that hiding this fact only deepens the devastation is one of the great principles of turning around a damaged life.

Third, submit to more capable men. We do not have all the resources we need even in the best of times. We certainly don’t have what we need in seasons of failure and embarrassment. We have to have mentors, coaches, trainers, and fathers. We need men who don’t fear us and are tough enough to press painful truths into our lives. We can’t rebuild without them.

Finally, we will have to face those we’ve damaged. We cannot run. Many of the men I have worked with during their potentially life-defining failures have had to fight the temptation to run from the ruin every single day. It is essential in reclaiming your lost territory that you stay in that territory—despite the mountains of rubble you’ve created—and yield to the processes of both God and man that are designed to help you reclaim and rebuild.

Mark is one of my heroes. He was a manly man. Sure, he was one of the great saints of the church, but before that he was a knucklehead who did great damage when the Christian faith was just starting to spread out into the world. He responded with humility and courage, though, and ended up changing the world.

Now that is what a man does.

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