Every great man of God stood for something. David was a man after God's own heart; Moses spoke with God and received His commandments; Paul was a father to many churches, and so on.
We know how great these men and many others are. We read how they served God in their generations: David defeated Goliath and establishing worship in Judah; Moses taking Israel out of Egypt and leading them towards the promised land; and Paul preaching Christ to the Gentiles and making disciples everywhere he went.
What we often fail to remember, however, is that while these men were indeed great in their own ways, they all had some things in common.
And these things are the same things that every Christian husband should establish.
What are these things? Let's talk about that.
Establishing manliness for Christ
In order to achieve success in every endeavor in the Lord, every Christ-following husband should establish a few things in himself. These things ensure that he will do what is right, avoid what is wrong, and keep his eyes focused on what God wants him to do.
What are these things? In this article we'll look at three things we should establish in ourselves.
1) Convictions
Every man who wants to follow Christ needs to have Godly convictions. These are firmly held beliefs that arise from one's own conscience.
Paul, for example, considered everything he knew and achieved apart from Christ as nothing so that he could pursue Christ. He said in Philippians 3:7-9,
"But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith."
2) Boundaries
Boundaries are Godly limitations that we set over ourselves for the purpose of doing only what is right in the fear of the Lord.
Boundaries protect us from sinning and allow us to live a free life to the glory of God. Failure to set up healthy and wise boundaries will expose us to danger.
Let's look at David, for example. While his decision to spare jealous King Saul was from a Godly boundary (see 1 Samuel 24:6-7), his failure to set up a personal boundary cost him dearly:
He committed adultery with a married woman, had her husband killed, and displeased the Lord (see 2 Samuel 11).
God was so displeased with what David did that He struck the child he had with Bathsheba, making the little boy ill (see 2 Samuel 12:15-19). The child died.
If David had boundaries meant for sexual purity, he probably wouldn't have committed his sin. If we'd all obey what Psalm 119:9-11 tells us, we'd see the difference:
"How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You."
3) Goals
Every man who desires to achieve great things for the Lord better have a God-given goal or vision.
Moses had one: he'd take Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.
Although Moses was very stubborn at first, eventually he yielded to God and obeyed His will (see Exodus 3). With God's help he successfully brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
And though Moses was not able to enter the Promised Land personally, he was able to lead the people towards it.
In closing
As God's people, we ought to give our efforts to becoming more like Christ with each day. It will require much from us, but the results will be more than just worth the effort.
