Understanding the Purpose and Power of Men

The Male as Teacher and Cultivator

nervous, He told them to remain calm. Whenever they be came frightened by a storm, He told them to relax. He was always there to wash away fear, to wash away doubt. When they wondered how they were going to feed the five thou sand, He told them to have faith. When they told Him that Lazarus had died, He said, ―Don‘t worry about it; he‘s slee p ing.‖ He was always washing His church. What kind of man do we need today? When your wife says, ―We can‘t pay our phone bill,‖ you say, ―Our God is bigger than any phone company.‖ That‘s washing your wife. When your wife says, ―We‘re not going to be able to meet the note at the bank. They‘re going to repossess the car, and the children are going to be taken out of private school,‖ you say, ―Honey, we serve the God of Abra ham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of my grandparents and parents. Let‘s just keep stan d ing on the Word. It‘s going to be all right.‖ When your wife feels a little pain in her body and begins to imagine all kinds of things, such as cancer, you have to be there and say, ―Honey, God is the God who heals you. Come here and let me pray for you.‖ Some men have only bad news. ―Honey, pack up. We have to move to lesser quarters.‖ They have nothing positive to say — no Scripture, no faith. God wants men who will stand u p in their faith, saying, ―A thousand may fall on my right, and ten thousand on my left, but in this house we‘re going to come through with flying colors. My house is cov ered by the Word of God. As for me and my house, we‘re going to be all right.‖ That‘s a man. That‘s a washer. Howe v er, he can do that only if he is filled with the Word. The male has been given the serious but exciting respon sibility of shaping the lives of his family members for the bet ter — teaching and cultivating them to be all that God created them to be. In this way, he is a partner with God in fulfilling His plan of creation. Two more assignments in which a man reflects his Creator are that of provider and protector. We‘ll explore these responsibilities in the next chapter. A Partner in God’s Creation

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