The Christian Man: Perspective

J.S. Bach at the keyboard and the other family members are playing or singing. (From a popular 19th century print by an unknown artist. I like it because it affirms Bach, for all of his genius and passion, did not pin his identity on his musical genius.)

It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. 

(Galatians 2:20a)

The original idea of this blog was to champion the idea of Sabbath rest...not just as individuals, but as communities.  The idea behind "church stopping" is not to stop going to church, it is to stop the busyness in our lives long enough so that we can truly be the church. "Less doing. More being."

And I think the point is still relevant and still counter-cultural. We must stop if we are ever going to truly know what God has called us to do.  Instead, we often just rush in, even when it is detrimental to our marriages, our health, our faith, and our relationships with friends and family.

And when we do we miss the point of what it means to be a Christian.  When we engage in life without Christ at the center, we miss the point of what it means to be a Christian and a man. Sometimes by a mile.

The women I know seem more wise.  They seem to know that no matter how busy they are, it is important to stop what they are doing long enough to reconnect with one another and with the God. They are more quick to understand that the abundant life that Jesus promises wasn't just trying to fit one more thing into the day.

However, as men, we sometimes think that doing more will make us more manly. We work out not to be healthy, but to compete.  We invest in our career not in order to make a living, but in order to impress others. Our wives are trophies and our children are "doing well".  Our yards are manicured, our cars are fast, and our beards are long.

But none of these things make us men.

After all, not all Christian men are athletic. Not all Christian men are married or have children.  Not all Christian men are consumed by their careers or drive nice cars or grow facial hair.  But not all men in the Bible were warriors or kings or prophets, either. There were musicians and accountants. There were artisans and poets and fishermen.  There were teachers and there was even a carpenter.

So what makes a man a Christian man?

We could say it is self-sacrifice.  We could say it is faithfulness. We could simply name the fruit of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And if we did, it would be a good start. But we could say these things of all Christians. Is there anything unique about being a Christian man?

Maybe the first thing that we can say is that the old stereotypes no longer apply.  The Christian man does not find his identity in his career or his car, his spouse or his children, his beard or his biceps.  

Johann Sebastian Bach did not live an easy life.  He outlived his first wife and was the father of  twenty children (ten of which died in infancy).  And yet, after nearly every composition, J.S. Bach would add, "SDG", which meant, to "Soli Deo Gloria". (To God be the glory.)  I'm not sure if Johann ever cut wood or hiked the Alps, but he understood that to be a Christian man is first a matter of perspective. Our identity is in Christ.

Church Stopping. Less doing. More being.