This month is MANistry month for N Squad. MANistry is a special month set apart from the other 10. It is where the men break off from the women and unite as one group for an entire month to bond and do ministry work. For many of the male alumni I have spoken with in the past it has been a life changing month for them.
My MANistry month has done just that. It has brought me back from the dead if you will. Before this month I was a walking zomby pretty much checked out from my team and everything that was around me. I had my moments where I was alive and thriving, but they were few and far apart compared to the fire that has been set inside of me now. But still I struggle with the fact that something has been missing from this month. It is like a great hole of emptiness is in the air and up until now I wasn't sure what to fill it with.
Tonight Joey Willis and I sat around a camp fire and started talking about how we both felt this emptiness in the air as if something was missing from our MANistry month. Recently God has been showing me the importance of following Him and doing what He is doing instead of focusing on myself. Just after praying for a revelation from God to show us what to do about this emptiness God answered. We've been asking the wrong question all along.
Since training camp the men on my squad and myself have been asking and seeking the truth behind the epic question: "What does it mean to be a man?" This past week we all had a discussion trying to define what a man was and we all had different answers and viewpoints of what it could be. One guy suggested a man was wearing camo, hunting, fishing, and being the stereotypical idea of a He-man. Another suggested that a man was a protector and encourager to those around him; someone to be looked up to.
While I believe both of these answers are correct, God has shown me that we will never as a group figure out the answer to that question because it is different for every single person. The answer God gave to my prayer was that we need to ask the question, "What is God doing?" and follow that. That's exactly what Jesus did! I believe that if we come together as men and start asking that question the rest will line up and we will be radically changed because we all are seeking the same thing, the Father, and in that we will be susceptible to the changes that God is constantly making and doing. We will stop trying to chase after some idea of an image of what a man looks like and be men seeking the heart and face of God.
That is what manhood is all about. Seeking God first and foremost; finding out what God is doing and joining Him in the process. It's a beautiful journey and one I've already had so many great experiences doing.
