That boy needs to man up. The first time I heard that was here in West Texas, and that's not a negative slight against West Texas. It is just that I had not heard this matter of fact phrase about how a guy responds to something. Man up. I had heard it posed as a question in my life, "You are a man aren't you?" Working on the Port of Houston, I had heard it put bluntly in words not proper for a devotion. These weren't and aren't words of encouragement. They are usually words meant to let the hearer know that his actions toward something aren't necessarily "manly."
The fact is that Christians are not to be fearful. We are to be of courage. We hear it throughout scripture. God doesn't tell us to "man up," but he does remind us to be of courage.
"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go?" (Joshua 1:9) What he tells Joshua he shares with us. In fact, he commands us to be strong and courageous for He is with us.
The fact is that we forget, as Peter did when he joined Christ on the water, to keep our eyes on Christ. We begin to sink. It isn't necessarily a matter of how strong or weak our faith is. It is a matter of knowing we are frail, regardless of what we believe about our faith lives, and that our command (the First Commandment), is to know that God is our only God.
Christ reiterates the command in Joshua this way: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19 - 20) Teach everyone all Christ has commanded us, and know He is with us, to the end of the age. Christ is with us. We need not fear or dismay.
Our prayer needs to be that we are faithful to God, and that the measure of "manning up" is that of keeping our eyes on Christ, the author of our faith.
Hope Men's Ministry
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