Rise Up. Hold Fast.

Rise Up. Hold Fast.

After having spent the last 5 weeks of #F3TheStand understanding The Masculine Mandate, this week we dove into Living our Mandate.  First stop: Marriage.  Actually the first few stops will be on marriage…today the focus of the 8 Pax in attendance was on God’s design for marriage.

The Thang and The Moleskin

Designed Incomplete

Throughout creation, God was pleased with what He saw, declaring 7 times that it was either “good” or “very good”.  But in Genesis 2:18, He declares “It is NOT good that man should be alone.”  And after Adam named all the animals, Genesis 2:20 states “But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him.”  Men are made not to stand in isolation but in need of companionship. In steps Eve.

• Champagne highlighted a point that we sometimes miss…that God saw something in His creation that was not good…not a failure, just incomplete…so He fixed it.
• Snowflake and Escargot, who both didn’t get married until in their mid-30s, offered some good insights to the guys about the positive changes in their respective lives since marriage.
• Biblical authority is all we need but… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpWAlvWNZj0

The Wonder and The Challenge

Woman was created as a suitable helper for man and for essential oneness with man.  But with this wonder comes a challenge.  Women are different…and we don’t understand them.  And thus, marriage relationships are not only compelling and interesting but also are demanding.  Love is not meant to be easy, which is why marriages need agape love.  Not a love that is self-focused or circumstantial but a love that gives.

• Rock Thrill and Udder both spoke of the commitment and the work needed in marriage.
• Wing_Man added that if marriage was easy, it would not be valuable.
• As a group, we discussed the complacency of men in marriages…the abdication of leadership. Hops noted that after the Fall, in Genesis 3:16, God noted that the woman’s desire would be to rule over her husband.
• Men, time to rise up in masculine virtue and strength based on agape love.

How to Love

To look into agape love, we delved into Ephesians 5.  To demonstrate this kind of love to our wives, we are told in verse 25 to “love as Christ loved the church”.  This is a sacrificial, selective and elective love to lead in a way that promotes our wives spiritual growth and sanctification.  In verse 28, we are told to “love as we love our own bodies”.  This means “holding fast” and caring for our wives.

• The standard is set forth.  Give ourselves to and for her.
• This doesn’t mean giving in to all her desires but it means loving and leading in a manner such that her desires become aligned with His desires.

DISCLAIMER: YHC is currently separated.  The many reasons may seem complex.  But the underlying truth is simple: YHC became complacent and acquiesced on wrong turns…did not love and lead for her sanctification.  For YHC, this chapter was a complete #smokefest.

Rise Up. Hold Fast.