“Igniting the flame of faith in the next generation of young men is the single greatest gift we can give to women, children, and communities worldwide. Broken male culture will affect a rite of passage for our young men without our permission or faith-filled fathers, mentors, uncles, and others will step into this vital role. So much is at stake. Rite of Passage: The Making of a Godly Man has come at just the ‘rite’ time and is the ‘rite’ tool for young men and all mentors of young men, including dads. Eric Ballard answers the vital questions of: What are the most important values we need to pass on to the next generation? How do we model, mentor, and message those values to the young men God has called us to influence? Every family, every church, and every faith-based organization who cares for the next generation of young men needs to digest this prophetic book and build weekends for a real-life rite of passage using its suggestions.”
— K ENN Y LUCK , author of Sleeping Giant and founder and president of Every Man Ministries
“Often when listening to a sermon, we may think to ourselves, Oh, I wish [fill in the blank] could hear this message. The same idea sometimes pops into our heads when reading a book. We think, Boy, [fill in the blank] really needs to read this book. As I read Rite of Passage, though, the overwhelming thought in my mind was, I need to read this book! Eric Ballard writes with boldness and conviction, and his fresh look at great men in Scripture was not only insightful but also challenging. Eric’s unique ability to pull life lessons from historical narratives helps us know what next steps we should take, and his passionate call for us to be godly men motivates us to start moving. The questions for reflection at the end of each chapter help us diagnose the strengths and weaknesses of our faith, and the Rites of Passage and Feats of Strength sections are excellent practical steps to help us put into action what we learn in each chapter. I enthusiastically recommend this book for anyone who desires to grow to be the man God calls him to be.”
— GARY PER MENTER , president of Gary Permenter Ministries
“This is an important and timely book. As a Christian and father of two young boys, I will return to the lessons and truths Eric Ballard presents in Rite of Passage for many years to come.”
— CH A D GIBBS , author of God and Football and Jesus without Borders
“Eric Ballard’s Rite of Passage: The Making of a Godly Man has captured the essence of the biblical storyline with numerous examples of what godly leadership looks like and coupled it with practical ways of challenging today’s young men with their responsibility of being a godly influence in the home. Not only is his approach biblical, but it comes from a genuine heart that desires to be a positive role model for his children. It is worth the read!”
— J. DENN Y AUTR EY, DMin, PhD, dean and professor of pastoral ministries of the Havard School for Theological Studies at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Houston
“In a culture that mostly lacks rites of passage, and has also removed the on-ramps to adulthood for teenagers and young adults, this book offers a clear and compelling articulation of what it looks like to be a man. Readers are given a road map to guide their aspirations.”
— M AR K OESTR EICHER , partner at The Youth Cartel and author of Hopecasting: Finding, Keeping and Sharing the Things Unseen
“I’ve had the chance to interact with much of Eric’s written work. He consistently delivers creative, challenging, and biblically rooted writing that leaves me thinking long after I put it down. Rite of Passage is no different. In this book, Eric expertly parses biblical narratives to pull out practical and relevant wisdom for young men who desire to see their identities molded into men after God’s own heart. Rite of Passage is an outstanding addition to the small number of books in my ‘must haves’ for men’s ministry.”
— A NDY BLA NKS , cofounder and publisher of youthministry360
R ITE
of
PA S S A G E
The Making of a Godly Man
ERIC BALLARD
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA
New Hope® Publishers PO Box 12065 Birmingham, AL 35202-2065 NewHopePublishers.com New Hope Publishers is a division of WMU®. © 2016 by Eric Ballard All rights reserved. First printing 2016. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the prior written permission of the publisher. New Hope Publishers serves its authors as they express their views, which may not express the views of the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Ballard, Eric, 1979- author. Title: Rite of passage : the making of a godly man / Eric Ballard. Description: Birmingham, AL : New Hope Publishers, 2016. Identifiers: LCCN 2016017432 | ISBN 9781625915047 (sc) Subjects: LCSH: Men (Christian theology) | Christian men--Religious life. | Christian men--Conduct of life. Classification: LCC BT703.5 .B35 2016 | DDC 248.8/42--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016017432 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission. ISBN-13: 978-1-62591-504-7 N174103 • 0816 • 2M1
TA BL E
of
CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
009
INTRODUCTION
011
CHAPTER 1
COUR AGE: F ollow in g G o d into t h e M y s te r y
017
CHAPTER 2
INTEGR ITY: A l w a y s D o t h e Ri ght T hin g
030
CHAPTER 3
CONFIDENCE: O ve r c o min g t h e O d d s
0 47
CHAPTER 4
R ESPONSIBILITY: O w nin g O ur Mis ta ke s
0 59
CHAPTER 5
R AGE: T h e C o n s e qu e n c e s of A n g e r
071
CHAPTER 6
SUFFER ING: Ta k in g I t Like a M an
083
CHAPTER 7
TOP DOG: Le ar nin g to Le a d
0 94
CHAPTER 8
PR IDE: T h e C au s e of C r a s hin g K in g d o m s
112
CHAPTER 9
SERVANTHOOD: T h e A r t of Sub mis sio n
128
C H A P T ER 10
POWER: U sin g Yo ur S t re n g t h fo r G o o d
142
C H A P T E R 11
HONOR: S te p p in g into t h e Fire
161
CLOSING
172
AC K NOW L E D G M E N T S Thank you, Kandace, Kya, and Bailey, for making me want to be a better man.
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I N T RODUCT ION
W
hat kind of man do you want to be? This is a question I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. Honestly, it’s a question I
rarely stop thinking about. Because the answer to that question will be the answer to most questions and situations I face. How would you answer it? If you could only use one word to describe the kind of man you desire to be, what word would you choose? Would it be strong or courageous or compassionate or wise or kind or alpha? I’m unsure of the word I would use to describe the man I want to be but if I had to choose one word to describe the man I am now, it would be unfinished. I am not the man I want to be. I am still a work in progress. The man I am now is too domesticated. Soft. The man I long to be is wild. And I mean that in the best possible way. We have slandered the word wild and linked it to the word rebellious. But I don’t think that is how it was meant to be. I think we were created to be wild but we became rebellious. To me the word wild is more closely
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INTRODUCTION associated with freedom, and I know that one of God’s reasons for sending us Jesus was to set us free (John 8:36, Luke 4:18). Maybe that would be the one word I would use to describe the man I want to become. Free. Free from the boy I tend to be and free to become the man I am meant to be. But when do you become a man? What period in your life can you point to and say, There, that is when I became a man? For most of us it would be difficult, if not impossible, to pinpoint a specific time that we became a man, but it probably involved tasks achieved or responsibilities met and other men coming alongside you and confirming you as a man. These themes seem to be universal when it comes to the transition from boyhood to manhood. There are actually several cultures that still have rites of passage for boys to undergo in order to declare to their communities that they have become a man. Sadly, our culture has no man-defining moments, milestones, or practices. Some will point to receiving a driver’s license, turning 18, or graduating from either high school or college. But none of these compare to the test of spear hunting lions that some African tribes still place on the shoulders of their boys before they can be considered a man. Or the fight-club beatings that ancient Spartans endured for the privilege of calling themselves men. By comparison, driving a car just doesn’t seem as manly. In most cultures a rite of passage has three phases. First, there is a separation phase. Here, the boy removes himself from who he used to be. He separates himself from everything he knows and is comfortable with to prepare for the new identity he is pursuing. Second, there is a transformation phase where the boy is given a set of tasks or responsibilities to accomplish that only a man can complete. While in this stage of transition from boy to man, an elder of the tribe comes alongside the boy, imparts wisdom, and teaches him what it means to be a man and how to conduct himself accordingly. Finally, there is a reintroduction – 12 –
INTRODUCTION phase. After the boy has conquered the tasks that were given him, he is restored and brought back to his tribe or community as a man. He is no longer a boy. His family and community commemorate his transformation and new identity with a celebration and feast. Among many other deep societal issues, the lack of such a ritual in our culture has done our guys a disservice. Because of this, we have a nation of guys in their twenties who are still more boy than man. This does not mean that installing a nationwide rite of passage would be a cure-all that instantly turns all boys to men. But a clearly laid out transitional phase for boys to begin to identify themselves as men would enhance the importance of becoming a man. I believe our current culture has actually emphasized the “Peter Pan syndrome” in which we praise the efforts of a guy trying to be a boy forever. But boys don’t lead nations. Men do. Boys don’t provide for and protect their families. Men do. Boys don’t shape the world. Men do. I hope reading this book will be a rite of passage for you. At the end of each chapter I include a section called Feats of Strength or Rite of Passage. These challenges build on each other and culminate in a camping trip you can take once you have finished the book, but I’ll get to that a little later. Take these challenges seriously. Let them become part of your transformation phase as you step away from boyhood and spur on toward manhood. Reach out to older men that you respect and admire and ask them to join you in this process. Ask them to help you and hold you accountable to the challenges you face. Afterwards, celebrate. Ask these men and other people close to you to celebrate your reintroduction to the world as a man. Have a meal together where you can speak about the process you went through and others can speak encouragement and loving truth into your life.
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INTRODUCTION Henry David Thoreau, as he reflected on the state of American culture in his book, Walden, famously stated, “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.” It would be easy to lead lives of quiet desperation without taking hold of the purposes for which God made us. I don’t want this to be me. Don’t let it be you either.
RITE OF PASSAGE
Once you have worked your way through this book, plan your own rite of passage. Set up an event that will officially mark your move from boy to man. A majority of men in the Bible had their encounters with God outside. They met with Him in nature—in His creation. Of course this is not an exclusive fact, God certainly met with people in the Temple and in their homes. But I expect most of the moments that come to mind when you think about God meeting with His people in the Bible took place outside. Jesus often used elements of nature to convey messages in His teachings and parables. There is something about being in God’s creation that makes relating to Him easier.
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INTRODUCTION
With that in mind, set up your rite of passage as an expedition into the wild. Pick a place to go camping. (If you live somewhere where you can’t get outside, that’s OK, too. Find a quiet place.) Take a weekend to separate yourself from the rest of the world, establish tasks and responsibilities that you must complete on your trip that will be representative of your growth into manhood, and come back home to a feast to celebrate your accomplishments and transformation. This book will help you navigate the process. At the end of the chapters that follow, we provide ideas and challenges to incorporate on your rite of passage. For a more meaningful milestone, take someone with you. It could be a buddy that has the same heart and mind that you do. Or it could be an older man that you respect and admire. Having someone to share the process with will enhance the experience. As men of God, we know that having time away to commune with God is crucial to our relationship with Him. But, our involvement in biblical community is also a key part of our spiritual growth. As you work through these rites of passage, make sure to continue investing in your church and family communities. continued . . .
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INTRODUCTION
Depending on your stage of life and responsibilities, a whole weekend away may not be feasible right now. That’s OK. Do what you can. Take a Saturday to hike in a nearby park. Find a place that is quiet and isolated from your normal routine of life. This is an important part in finding God.
_______________________________________________ Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. —Mark 1:35 NIV _______________________________________________
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CHAPTER 1
COU R AGE Following God into the Mystery
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” So Abram departed as the Lord had instructed. —Genesis 12:1, 4 _______________________________________________
CH A PTER 1
T
he greatest movie of all time: Braveheart. It’s a fact. It has every component that a truly exceptional story needs: an underdog
hero, a call to stand and fight, a woman to pursue, and a cause to defend. In one of the countless epic scenes of this legendary movie (Have I mentioned this is a great movie?) we see that war is inevitable. The battle lines have been drawn. On one side: an English army whose numbers rival the stars in the sky. They are a collection of infantrymen whose tried and true tactics won the English many battles. On the other side: a ragtag collection of Scots composed of every able-bodied male they could scrounge up. Farmers, not soldiers. Many of the Scots give up when they see they are outnumbered and out manned. They drop their weapons and begin to walk away before the fight even starts. This is about the time that our hero, William Wallace, and his tight-knit clan of warriors come riding into camp. Epic stories of William Wallace had found their way into the hearts of every Scottish tribe. Tales of Wallace rebelling against and overthrowing several English military posts scattered about the Scottish terrain made him seem more myth than reality. The Scottish men want to believe in Wallace, but he seems unbelievable. Yet, there he is, riding horseback to the front line where he turns to face his countrymen and question why they are turning to flee. His eyes scan the crowd and search every face. His voice echoes in the quiet as he gives the unsettled army reason to stand and defend their land and cause. His face—half-covered with war paint—strikes fear in the hearts of his enemy. In this scene, William Wallace is the picture of masculinity. – 18 –
COU R AGE: FOLLOW ING GOD INTO TH E M YSTERY At the end of his goose bumps-raising speech, he readies his horse to meet the entire English army head-on. A close and trusted friend pulls him aside before he rides off and asks, “Where are you going?” Without batting an eye, Wallace answers back, “I’m going to pick a fight.” What is it? What is it in a man that causes him to walk toward the danger while others turn and run? What makes some men run into a burning house, a dark alley mugging, a collapsed building, or an overturned vehicle when the sensible thing to do is bolt? Why do some men run toward while other men run away? The answer is courage. It is courage that stills a man in the face of danger causing him to remain instead of retreat. Courage is that steady voice that whispers, You’ve got to do something, when everything else inside of you is screaming, You’ve got to get out of here. We all know courageous men. We often refer to them as heroes. We all long to be courageous men. We all want to be heroes. We think of them as fearless. Valiant. But this is not true. It is only our perception of these men that builds them up to be without fear. Courage is not the absence of fear but taking action despite the fear. Men of courage are not immune to fear, they push forward—despite permeating fear—so that they can do what needs to be done. Where does courage come from? How do we get the voice of courage to ring louder than the warning bells when trouble begins to rear its frightening head? I believe we can find the answers to these questions in the life of Abraham. Abraham was a man of courage. This doesn’t mean that he was fearless by any means. There were certain moments in Abraham’s life where fear overtook him. But for the most part, Abraham was a man of action. And isn’t this what we all desire to be? Men of action?
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CH A PTER 1 When we first meet Abraham, he is 75 years old and living in the land of Haran. Before Abraham’s father Terah died, he moved Abraham, his wife Sarah, and his nephew Lot, from a city named Ur that rested in the heart of Chaldea. Ur of the Chaldeans was known as the great “Moon-city” and would have been the epicenter of moon worship in the Chaldean area. “Nanna” was the moon god and one of the idols that Abraham would have grown up worshiping. The starry nights in the Middle East are notoriously bright. With the moon shining the brightest in the celestial night sky, you can imagine how an ancient people group considered it god-like. The way it hung in the darkened night and provided light to those below might have seemed like divine providence to an archaic people. With the practice of moon worship so entrenched, it would have been hard to imagine the Chaldeans living any other way. But, the God of the universe reveals Himself to Abraham
(Genesis 11–12, Joshua 24:2–3). If we assume that Abraham was like most of the people in Ur, we can also safely assume that he was part of a pagan group that worshiped the moon. And, that throughout all of his 75 years of worship to the moon, it never gave him anything in return. It must have been quite the difference to interact with the living God. But there don’t seem to be any introductions when the Lord first appears to Abraham. No pleasantries. No get-to-know-you time. Only a command and some promises:
_______________________________________________ Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you. —Genesis 12:1–3 _______________________________________________ – 20 –
COU R AGE: FOLLOW ING GOD INTO TH E M YSTERY That’s it. Go, and I will bless you. No destination. No direction. No description of how to get there. Just a simple, “Go to the land that I will show you.” But that is all Abraham needed. In the next verses Abraham packs up his wife and nephew and leaves his native land. Courageous. On the surface, this may not appear to be an impressive or courageous act, but I assure you that it is. Let’s dig in here and take a close look at what’s happening between God and Abraham. First, God is asking Abraham to leave everything he knows and move into the unknown. This means saying good-bye to family, friends, familiarity, and everything that he knew. I get that most of us have done or will do something similar to this in our lives. We have left or will leave our home to move off to college, pursue a new career, or possibly join the military. These things take no small amount of courage in and of themselves, but how many of us make this move knowing that we are saying good-bye forever? Have you ever packed up your family and all of your belongings, gotten into the car, and then just driven around the country until God showed you a good spot to settle? God isn’t asking Abraham to make a temporary move. A short sabbatical where he leaves for a time but then returns to the warmth and familiarity of home. No, this is a call of separation. Abraham must leave his home because he must separate himself from who he used to be so that he is able to embrace who it is that God is calling him to be. This is the first step of courage—a separation from our old self. Abraham was called to separate himself from his old life and the people in it because that culture and lifestyle of idolatry would have only hindered, maybe even completely destroyed, his ability to follow after God. We are naturally consumed with a disease of “self.” Because of the fall in Genesis 3, we are born selfish and self-centered. We are always our own number-one priority and focus. Nothing is more
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CH A PTER 1 important to us than us. But almost all courageous acts come from a selfless place. And to become selfless we must remove self. Abraham did this by separating himself from his past and moving toward God. This separation caused him to become someone else. Someone new. When God first speaks to Abraham, his name is actually Abram. It wasn’t until after he obeyed that God changed his name to Abraham. The formula for change in Abraham’s case is the same for us. We must separate ourselves from who we used to be and embrace the work of God in our hearts, as He makes us look more like Himself. Who we used to be was a self-seeking person full of self-worship. This is a toxic lifestyle that only leads to the poisoning of our hearts. But what God has called and created us to be is something entirely new. Paul says it this way in his letter to the church at Corinth:
_______________________________________________ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! —2 Corinthians 5:17 _______________________________________________ When Abraham packed up his wife, Sarai (Sarah), and nephew, Lot, and left his home without question, he was letting go of the life he created for himself to instead take on the life God created for him. Many years later, Paul tells us that God Himself counted Abraham’s courageous act of faith as righteousness (Romans 4:3, 22). In Genesis 13, we again see Abraham acting courageously. This story reveals the second and most crucial step in becoming a man of courage. Because of God’s blessings, Abraham and Lot’s wealth became so substantial that they could no longer occupy the same land, which couldn’t support all their flocks and herds. – 22 –
COU R AGE: FOLLOW ING GOD INTO TH E M YSTERY They had to split up. Abraham gave Lot first choice in where he wanted to set up his new camp, and Lot chose the Jordan Valley near Sodom and Gomorrah. (This would be a decision that continually led Lot into trouble.) On this particular occasion, Genesis 14 records that after Lot settled near Sodom, war broke out between nine different kingdoms, including the rebel kings of Sodom and Gomorrah. The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah find themselves on the losing side of this battle and retreat into hiding as the other invading kings come to collect the spoils of war from the fleeing kings. Part of the plunder that the victorious kings capture is Lot and all that he owns. Abraham’s own nephew has been taken captive. As these kings round up all their newfound treasures, one of Lot’s men is able to slip away and escape. He goes undetected and stealthily makes his way back to Abraham’s camp. Why is Abraham’s doorstep the escapee’s first stop? In addition to their family ties, Lot knows of the great courage that Abraham possesses. He knows Abraham is a man of action. Abraham would have known immediately that something was wrong just by observing the demeanor of Lot’s servant. He was courageous and wise, to boot. As the runaway explains all that has gone down with Lot, Abraham’s heart might have beat faster and faster. Abraham may have tuned out halfway through the man’s report while his mind raced through several different scenarios of rescue and possible success for each strategy. In the end, he simply settles for search and rescue. Without hesitation, Abraham gathers his trained men and begins the pursuit of Lot’s captors. There are a couple of details we need to be aware of here. Abraham is pushing 80 years old by this point, and his reinforcements total less than 320 men. Can you picture an army that has just won a war being chased down by a tiny band of men led by someone the age of your grandfather? Did Abraham’s men worry he might break a hip while – 23 –
CH A PTER 1 riding his horse? Was he even strong enough to swing a sword? To say the odds were against Abraham and his men would be quite the understatement. Yet, Abraham races off into the darkness to bring back his nephew. The Bible records it this way:
_______________________________________________ When Abram heard that his nephew Lot had been captured, he mobilized the 318 trained men who had been born into his household. Then he pursued Kedorlaomer’s army until he caught up with them at Dan. —Genesis 14:14 _______________________________________________ Where does courage like that come from? What beckons a man to stare down the odds that are stacked against him in such a courageous way? It is his cause. This is the truest secret to becoming a man of courage—the cause. All men of courage have a cause that stands bigger than self. The cause is what drives a man to do what others are too scared to do. In this story, the cause is the safe return of Abraham’s nephew. Other priorities pale in comparison. In the story of God calling Abraham into the unknown, the cause is God’s promise to Abraham. The promise of becoming the father of an entire nation and Abraham’s encounter with God made it worth leaving everything else behind. It made saying good-bye easy. For William Wallace, the cause was freedom . . . or “Frrreeeedddddoooommmm!” The cause will make you do things you didn’t think were possible. The cause will make you an overcomer. Shortly after Jesus started his earthly ministry, He went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Passover. When He entered the Temple area, He saw merchants stealing and cheating people in their transactions, commercializing the worship of God and His Holy Temple. – 24 –
COU R AGE: FOLLOW ING GOD INTO TH E M YSTERY Jesus stooped down and began crafting a whip. He began to wield the whip inside the Temple, driving the livestock from the Temple area, flipping over the tables of these crooked merchants, and spilling their money and goods all over the Temple floor. He demanded their immediate removal from the premises, and everyone could tell by the look in Jesus’ eyes that He meant business. Jesus single-handedly and courageously removed a den of thieves that had set up shop in His Father’s Temple. His cause was His Father’s honor (John 2:13–16). I have seen countless movies where the lead character hears something just outside the car or in a dark alley or across the street in an abandoned warehouse and decides he must explore the situation. Like a moron, the lead character always leans over to his girlfriend who is sitting next to him and says, “Wait here while I go check it out.” I used to laugh at those guys until I had a family of my own. Now that I have a wife and kids, anytime I hear a bump in the night I have to get out of bed to go check things out. I can’t sleep if I don’t make sure everything is as it should be. My cause is my family, and I would do anything to protect them. I would guarantee their safety at all costs. The cause is what drives us to become men of action. I keep calling it “the cause” because the cause could be anything. It will be different for every man because every man is different. Of course there are some universal causes that all men can rally behind, like family, country, the defenseless, and ultimately the honor of our God and King. These ring true for Abraham. Night had fallen when Abraham finally catches up to King Kedorlaomer and his army. While Kedorlaomer’s men sit around their campfires celebrating their recent victory and the spoils that go with it, Abraham rallies his troops. Now is the time to attack. He divides his small unit of trained men and arranges an assault from both sides. By God’s
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CH A PTER 1 grace, Kedorlaomer’s men don’t stand a chance and run away in fear. The threat has been undone. It would have been easy for Abraham to take Lot and return home, but he didn’t do that. At least not at first. There were more captives than just Lot. This army had to be fully extinguished so as not to do more damage to anyone else. Abraham’s cause was Lot, but it was also to protect the people out there who weren’t able to defend themselves. So he kept up his pursuit of the cowardly army to put an end to their threats once and for all:
_______________________________________________ He caught up with them at Dan. There he divided his men and attacked during the night. Kedorlaomer’s army f led, but Abram chased them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus. Abram recovered all the goods that had been taken, and he brought back his nephew Lot with his possessions and all the women and other captives. —Genesis 14:14–16 _______________________________________________ Abraham didn’t rest until he had rescued all the captives. He couldn’t stop until the cause was safe. He valued those he came to rescue more than his own safety, and when the cause becomes bigger than self, courage abounds. The actions of Abraham are admirable. Courageous men are easy to admire. But make no mistake about it, Abraham was afraid to do what he did. To be courageous does not mean to be fearless. Fear creeps its way into all our hearts at some time or another. Courageous men find a way to push that fear to the side and fall deaf to its monstrous voice, striving instead toward the cause. Courage causes us to face our fear instead of running from it. When Abraham led his family into the unknown, likely there were days when fear’s tempting remarks echoed
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COU R AGE: FOLLOW ING GOD INTO TH E M YSTERY in Abraham’s ears, “Turn back. Go back home where it’s safe.” While chasing down King Kedorlaomer in pursuit of his abducted nephew, Abraham probably faced fear’s utterance once again, “You’re outnumbered. You’re too old. Turn back and go home where it’s safe.” But on each occasion, probably multiple times, Abraham’s response was a resounding, “No. There is no turning back.” Courageous: a rejection of the flesh to embrace the call of God. Facing off with fear is no easy task, but Abraham’s strategy will work for you and me and make the fight a little easier. His faith and love for Almighty God made squaring off with his fear less intimidating. The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:18 that, “perfect love expels all fear.” All fear. Love drives out all fear. Abraham’s life was a constant demonstration of his love for his God. That love began when God called him out of his moon-worshiping past and grew with every encounter he had with the Creator. As his relationship with God grew so did his love for God. And as his love grew so did his courage, because love expels all fear. So if you and I want to be men of courage, and we all do, then the best place to start is by knowing God—the very definition of love.
_______________________________________________ God is love. —1 John 4:16 _______________________________________________
Application THOUGHT-PROVOKING QUESTIONS
1. Would you describe yourself as courageous? Are you a man of action? What is the most courageous thing you have ever done? – 27 –
CH A PTER 1
2. What stops you from being more courageous? 3. Is there something in your life holding you back that you
need to separate yourself from? Is there something keeping you from being the man God has called you to be?
4. What do you think God created you, specifically, to do?
(Spend some time thinking about this and be specific with your answer.)
5. What is your “cause”? What is it that gives you courage? 6. What are you afraid of? (Sure, maybe you don’t like snakes and spiders, but what are your deeper fears?) What brings you the most fear? What keeps you up at night?
7. In your life, what role does love play in driving out fear?
Feats of Strength We all have something in our lives that competes with God for our attention and devotion. Abraham was called to separate himself from the society and culture he lived among. You should try the same thing. Do your best to separate yourself from the culture of technology we live in. Disconnect for a while. Turn off your phone. Put your e-mails away. Walk away from social media. Take this time to spend with the Lord. Try to make this a regular practice for you. Turn off all the noise in your life so that you may better hear from your Heavenly Father.
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COU R AGE: FOLLOW ING GOD INTO TH E M YSTERY
RITE OF PASSAGE
These Rites of Passage at the end of each chapter will help you prepare for the recommended camping trip after you have completed this book. Today, consider where you will go and who might join you. Abraham’s first call from God was one of separation. He had to remove himself from his old life and who he used to be so that he could move forward to become who God created him to be. So you, too, will separate yourself from society. If you bring along some buddies make sure you spend some time by yourself to be alone with your Creator. Separation. If you can only get away for the day to a nearby park, make sure you find a quiet place where you can be alone. Start your conversation with the Lord like this, “Speak, your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10). Then spend the rest of the time listening. Too often, we do all the talking when we pray. Take this time to be still and listen. “Be still, and know that I am God!” (Psalm 46:10). God will speak loudly through His Word and prayer when you take time to commune with Him.
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CHAPTER 2
INTEGR IT Y Always Do the Right Thing
The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. —Genesis 39:2 _______________________________________________