I first sat down to write down a different blog, which I will when I get done with this one. I wanted to write a quick follow up to my last blog entitled ” Men…where are you?” SO, this is it!
RAMBO…I know some of you have heard me use Rambo analogies before so bear with me.
Rambo 1: I don’t recall which Rambo it was in, but there is a part where John Rambo wants nothing to do with the life he once lived. He has worked hard to lay low and live an honest life out of the way. His old commander comes and finds him for one more mission. He knows that Rambo is the best at what he does and the very important task at hand can only be done by him. During the exchange, Rambo gets worked up and shouts that he wants nothing to do with it ever again…that he is done. Well, the commander used an analogy to kind of change his mind. He talked about visiting a place in Italy where a famous sculpter once chiseled with absurd detail the upper half of a man. The bottom half remained untouched rock. The commander was intrigued so he walked closer and found the inscription “I did not create this, I just chipped away some of the rough edges…” He then looked at John Rambo and said “John, when are you going to realize that I did not make you into who you are? I’ve only been a part of the process to chip away some of your rough edges.” (something like that with my obvious paraphrases.)
Rambo 2: Later in the movie after Rambo had accepted the mission, he found himself crawling near a HUGE fortified base with the commander on one side and another guy on the other. The other guy was some sort of guide/officer and upon looking at the base remarked how he wished he had 10,000 men to come in to do the job. Without hesitation, John Rambo looked at him and slurred out the remark “I’d rather have three lions than ten thousand sheep…”
In the last blog I asked the question of where the men were…Well, God has been showing me a little bit and I see you!! A week ago I found myself at a bachelors party for a buddy of mine from college. It was a dry party but not because the guys were overly “religious.” In fact these guys know how to have fun and are about the last thing from “nice little boys.” Anyway, to cap the night off we got around him and the married guys of the group gave him honest and real advice before we all prayed for him. The prayers and blessings were genuine and it lasted longer than most people’s attention spans 🙂 At one point in time, I looked up to see a young man who I have had the blessing and opportunity to watch grow surrounded by 12 solid men of integrity on their knees. For those of you who read this and think his may be cheesy…YOU have no idea what kind of power is in this!!! Seriously.
Many of these guys came from my university which made me think of the days when I was there. While there I lived with a group of amazing guys for a couple years. People were always in an out of the house and the guys I lived with were made in the same ilk. In fact, there were some guys that walked the path before us and many of the guys there that night were affected by the guys I lived with. That’s humbling and encouraging. I visited the area briefly to find that the culture of males turning into men has continued to grow and multiply at my old church. These guys are stepping into leadership of their families, work environments and church. You all encourage me!
The more I evaluate the men in my life, the more I realize how truly blessed I am. I come from a family of men who are strong, sacrificial and who often exude goodness. I don’t know where or when this started in my family but I know that from my grampas down, the men of my family are exceptional. While growing up I found myself surrounded by a group of guys that were also solid. We haven’t all been the best at keeping in touch but these guys are like brothers to me and when I do see one, the time spent between visits seems non-existant.
While I’m at it, I’d also have to mention the guys from the World Race. Once again I found myself surrounded by quality men who I would do just about anything for. I’ve been blessed to have such amazing men in my life and I am quite thankful for that…I was also thankful that God has been showing me the guys of integrity who have been there as an encouragement throughout the years.
SO…what’s my point? Well, I’d rather have 3 lions than 10,000 sheep. There are some quality men in this world that are doing some real damage (in a good sense) and the quality of these men isn’t questioned by me. Also, the number of quality men is starting to grow and even if it’s nowhere near a majority, I want to let you all know that men are starting to get it.
Second of all I wanted to say that there are a lot of “half chiseled men out there” and my encouragement is to be still and let the master finish what He has started…when He cuts you it hurts, but it’s worth it.
Thirdly (who uses that? I could use “tertiarily” but even less people use that…anyway,) I hope that everyone who reads this has at least one quality male in their life. My challege and encouragement to you is to find a way to show or tell the males in your life who are great examples of men how much that means to you…See what kind of a difference and encouragement that can make 🙂
