Proverbs 17:17 "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."
Being a warrior invokes to me an image of a motley band of brothers walking in a destitute land with their weapons on their backs and little else. These warriors are traveling through the land that needs their warriorship as much as they need each other. The group can count on each other and there is little need for worry because each one has an angle and a role that they cover with each individual skill set that compliments the group without fail. They feel each others pain, experience joy and despair together, and ultimately are striving for the same goal. I cannot explain why this is the image I get but it is. It is never an image of a loner or vagabond without friendship but of a group that is strong in it's numbers.
I know that the idea of community is huge in our culture that is why we join groups online and why we are connected to different clubs and idealogical groups. We want to be part of something... a tribe, a hunting party, a social club, or even a virtual reality that bands you with others.
As men we need this group. We need to know that there are others that are striving for the same goal, have the same stresses, and are ready to handle the situations in likemindedness. We need a group outside of our families (wives and children) that love us and accept us. A group that is honest with each other and lets down all barriers to reveal the true person inside without the fear of being rejected.
As a believer we are living in a time where the line in the sand has been drawn and has been trampled upon to an extent that makes it hard to find. Now more than ever as we raise our children and live our lives in this modern time we need men to step up and be unafraid to bear their souls while taking a stand against all that is wrong. To redraw the line and make it deep and clear enough so that the generation coming behind us, our children and their children, have a place to dig in and continue the fight.
I have been guilty of moving the line my whole life and really when I look back it is more of a wavy line not a straight line. I have tried to keep a foot on each side at times and this simply cannot work. To be true to oneself that loves God one must love God in all that he/she does. There is no wiggle room. There is no place to move the line forward or back. Even with this blog my first thought was to not be too "churchy" and therefor not cheesy. Now things have changed and if it is going to be cheesy then so be it because what is in our hearts will come out of our mouths and pervade all of our actions. I want my mouth to speak of the glory and hope of God and my actions to reflect the love that He has given me so that the line that I draw has meaning and a distinct purpose.
I do believe though that in order for this to be accomplished we need the group of motley warriors that are unafraid to be different. We must find those that are willing to have the angles that we cannot cover and have the skill sets that we do not possess. Find them and hang on to them. Disciple each other and sharpen each other. Pray for each other and their families. Fight at each other's side.
God gives us hope and a purpose, he gives us the common bond that we need to band together. We must band together so that when we are unsure and have a hard time finding the line our brothers, born for adversity, can pick us up hand us our dropped weapon and say, "Brother here is the line, stand next to me and with God we will hold this line and conquer our common enemies!"
No I did not just watch Braveheart but I did have coffee with a brother in Christ and this was on my heart as it has been for a while now. There is nothing greater than the love of God and that my friends is worth our effort, but it is hard and I would say miserable to go at it alone and that is the reasoning behind this post.
Have a great rest of the week and remember to practice warriorship in every aspect of your lives.
