by Christopher Mills
What comes to mind when you hear the statement, ‘A man after God’s own heart?’
Do you picture a soft man, a gentle and passive man? That may be true but have you ever seen it as a man after the heart of God. Let me word it this way: A man in pursuit of God’s own heart?
What has happened to the men of God? What does it mean to be a true man of God? What does a Man of and in God look like? I have been asking these questions. Men in the modern church have been emasculated; our view of the bride of Christ has been inaccurate. The question has gone through my mind, how are we, as men, the bride of Christ? We are men, not brides, men don’t become brides. When you think of a bride you think of amazing beauty, soft heart and gentle spirit. This view has lost an important aspect of men. A man is strong, assertive and righteous in spirit. What does a man pursuing the heart of God look like?
A man was designed to pursue what he loves. A man will do almost anything for the woman he’s pursuing. There is no greater thing in a man than to behold beauty and then to pursue it with all his heart. We are taught that God is a romantic and wooing God (that He is) but how does a man express his love? We are taught God pursues us with His love and we are meant to sit idle waiting to be swept off our feet. To be honest that does not sound romantic to me. I want to be able to chase my love down. Go on the hunt for the heart of God. Men were designed not to be swept off their feet in love but to pursue love with a full heart. They need to capture a glimpse of the beauty of God and never let that go and chase that beauty for as long as it takes. We are told that men are visual creatures so why is it we do not seek to see God’s face, to see His beauty? As men we need to see the beauty of God and be captivated by it and never forget. We need to be always on the hunt for God’s beauty.
John the apostle is an example to me of what a man of God is. What stands out to me is that he was a man truly in an intimate relationship with Jesus and his love for Him is great. You can see in the first book of John. John is someone who knows the love of the Lord and knows how to show his love to God and the people of the church and this world. John was the apostle who felt so comfortable and loving enough to lean against the breast of Jesus. I find it interesting that it was John who was shown the ultimate beauty of the Lord through the revelation that God displayed to him about the coming glory of Christ returning. As far as I can see John must have been a man seeking the beauty of God to receive such an awesome and awe inspiring vision of the Lord. John had captured a glimpse of the beauty of Jesus Christ and he chased after that beauty and God continued to unveil His beauty to him throughout the rest of his life resulting in the immense revelation of Jesus’ glorious return.
Where have the strong men gone, the men who fight for the ones they love? Unfortunately the fight in men has become so misplaced that it has caused much harm to families and those around them. Men are fascinated by violence, as young boys there’s nothing like wrestling with brothers and Dad. All the way growing up you test your strength against the other men in your life. Godly men should be the most spiritually violent men around. Give a man love and he will fight for it until he falls. A man loves to love and fights for love. If a man loves God he will be fighting for that love of His. How many movies do you see where a man fights to regain his loved ones. The hero always has to save his beloved. Most male movies all have a romantic flame to fight for. If we love God we should fight for God.
"And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force."
Matthew 11:12
We have women in the church who intercede for hours and hours for those around them. If you asked who is on the intercession team then you would probably find a majority of women. If a man fights for his love and what his love holds dear then men should be flocking to intercession meetings! Have church men become so passive that they have lost the ability to fight? In intercession and prayer a man should be wading into a battle. A man should see this world and see how it grieves his love. This should be his call to arms. Love is his call to arms.
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Ephesians 6:12
David is the man mentioned in Acts 13:22 to be a man after God’s own heart and was willing to do all of God’s will. From a young age he was destined for a lot. He was anointed king by Samuel at a young age. However he continued to be a shepherd who tended flocks. However his heart was always for God and His people. When David took down Goliath it was because the Philistines defied a living God and the army He had placed (1 Samuel 17:26). David fought for his God and the people of God’s nation. He was a warrior who fought for his love and all that was dear to his love.
Whenever Jesus went to heal, the Bible often mentions that He was moved with compassion for the person. It was compassion that caused Jesus to war against the sickness and disease over the person. We as men need to be soft enough to feel the compassion of the Lord yet strong enough to fight for the life of a person or a group of people. I believe a true man is humble and soft to the ways of God but also strong and righteous in battle for God and His loves.
Lord I thank you for Your love that designed the heart of man and we repent where we have distorted Your design and where we have compromised Your purpose for men. We ask Lord that You would build in us a heart of a true man, to see the beauty that You hold and also the strength to fight for our Love, which is You, Jesus Christ. Teach us Lord to understand Your design and purpose for us as men. Teach us to wield our weapons with purpose in Your divine will. Deliver us from our passivity and bring us into Your authority and assertiveness. We make ourselves willing and open to Your dealings and training. Let Your will be done. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
