Men of the Master

My brother attends a Christian camp every summer called Deerfoot Lodge, located in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Every month during the year he also receives a newsletter from Deerfoot that is addressed to “Men of the Master.” I love that phrase. It describes men who love the Lord and serve Him as Master. I have been blessed and privileged to encounter several of those men here in Wisconsin. These are men that are unashamed of their love for Him and bear His image in the midst of their own brokenness. I am drawn to the Holy Spirit in them and I always come away encouraged. Godliness is such an attractive quality, but it's a kind of quality that pushes me away from depending on them to wanting to grow deeper in my own walk with the Lord. Yet it is such a blessing to have them walk beside me. Men that love the Lord have a slice of God’s glory within them that is foreign to me as a woman. And I think that in the same sense, women have a slice of the glory of the Lord within them that is different than what the men have. Romans chapter 12:9-13 says,

“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.”

This passage just reminds me that we are to be brothers and sisters in Christ, striving to show honor to one another in the name of the Lord. Because I am a girl I am used to living within the context of women and seeing the ways that they love the Lord, but there’s something that stands out to me when men genuinely love the Lord and “contribute to the needs of the saints” no matter what others say or think. These men are hard to come by, because even in our Christian circles there is a lot of temptation for men to compete with one another or to just stay in comfortable silence. But something in my heart just melts when I see "men of the Master" that go beyond just their duties and fully embody the power of the Gospel in their lives. There is a sense of Biblical manhood that these men are grounded in. They have a certain strength about them that comforts me and inspires me to run harder towards my Master.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving

More thoughts on stubbornness:

I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that the reason I was thinking through all that is because InterVarsity likes to impose lots of rules and structures. A lot of these are good and I have learned to see the value in them and have intentionally tried to invite the Holy Spirit to soften my heart towards these structures. Even still my heart is sinful and rebellious. There was a point this week when we were being asked to participate in something that to me, felt like a waste of time. I was anxious and starting to verbally complain when the Spirit began to prick my own spirit that I needed to bend my heart. So I went away for a little bit and spent some time in the Lord’s presence. I love that He lets me come to Him just as I am- with all of my anxiety and strong-willed thinking. I was telling Him how I didn’t want to do this activity and that I didn’t even like it or the person asking me to do it, and He interrupted me and just said, “but Linds, you love ME.” He said it so lovingly and so simply and I was humbled. He was calling me to obedience simply because of His character and my love for Him. He has called me to InterVarsity not for the sake of InterVarsity, but for the sake of His name and glory. And as a result, I am free to obey the structures because it is ultimately the Lord that I am serving. I was reminded of Derek Webb’s live album entitled “House Show” where he takes a moment to tell us,

“all the behavior modification in the world will never change your heart, but Jesus however, he does change our hearts.”

It’s so true. Jesus is slowly and gently changing my rebellious heart and pulling me into a deeper love for Him. I wrote this verse on the back of my nametag so I would be daily reminded of my submission to the Lord above all else:

“Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:22-24

Amen. It is the Lord Christ I am serving- may it always be.