"Joseph said to them, 'Do not fear, for am I in the place of God?' As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good...." Genesis 50:19 - 20
I have had the privilege of meeting George HW Bush on several occasions. The first time was after he was defeated by Barbara Jordan for the US Congress in Houston. My mom and I were in a department store in downtown Houston, and when we rounded a corner, there he stood. Tall, wearing a tie and an overcoat (don't ask me why or how I remember that) and looking at items. I went up to him and told him I was sorry he lost (as an eight- or nine-year old). He smiled and shook my hand and said, "We will get them next time."
Indeed he did. He went on to serve, ultimately as president. Interestingly enough, he started his service by lying about his age and getting into the Navy as a pilot. You probably know the story, he was shot down in his Avenger as the pilot and lost two crewmen in the Pacific bombing Chi-chi Jima. I just read the account as recorded by James Bradley who wrote "Flags of Our Fathers." The account is in "Fly Boys" which he wrote later, but he visited the island with Bush after his presidency. Bush steps aside as they walk the island, looks out, and says, "I always felt responsible for them and have always wondered what happened to them." Clearly they were not reported as prisoners and never had their bodies found.
Bush came back and was like other men of that generation, putting the war behind them and serving as fathers, husbands, businessmen and workers. When he got into politics, his war record was never touted as a selling point. It was, in fact, out of reverence to two men who died on his watch, not as a liability on him but rather in honor of their loss and ultimate sacrifice. I saw him at activities after his presidency, sometimes up close and in person (shook his had at the marathon in 2000 and again as he followed Fred Couples at the Houston Open). He clearly made his mark. What does Bush teach us about masculinity?
Like Joseph in Genesis, he teaches us to proceed with life. You know Joseph's story. Brat of a little brother, Jacob's favorite in they eyes of his older brothers, sold into slavery and put in and out of jail in Egypt and then in and out of pharaoh's court in between. The above passage at the start of the devotion is the climax of a lifetime in Egypt when he finally confronts his brothers about the path they set him on. "God meant it for good."
Part of our masculine nature is to continue in the battle and move forward, to keep our eyes on the goals set before us. "...Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14
What happens to us either shapes us or enslaves us to a lifetime of blame. Our mind should be set on the prize set before us, to learn of God's call in our own lives, and to pray that God help us in our effort to be men who make a difference in our families, communities, church, work, and other places in which we are visible.
(Loosely based on the book by Tony Evans, "No More Excuses: Be the Man God Made You to Be." 2017. Ch 1 - "No More Hiding from the Past")
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