WHEN A SON BECOMES
A
MAN

What is his relationship with his father?
Both earthly and Heavenly?

           Ideally, an earthly father trains his son from infancy, through the teen years, until the day the son leaves home and becomes a man.
         I studied Ed Cole’s book Maximized Manhood and found it an excellent example of what a Real Man should be. Only by knowing these truths that Ed took from the Bible and his experiences, can a young man learn to walk towards his own position of manhood.
         Perhaps I missed a chapter, but I believe the Lord is showing me now.
         At some point a young man reaches the age of accountability. He has been trained and taught what is right. Now, the father must release him to be his own man.
         What I am seeing lately, is that some fathers in the spiritual sense, such as pastors or those who have parented young men and women in the Lord, are willing to release the young men to walk their own walk with the Lord.

    But, it is the young men who have been afraid to ‘let go’ and walk with their Heavenly Father on their own. As their earthly father prepared them to walk the world walk, did he also prepare them for their Maximized Manhood with God?
         There is the spiritual and there is the natural. There are types and shadows that work both ways.
         When an earthly father has a son…few things can make him happier. He has many ideal plans for what that son will become…but the top picture in his mind…is that his son will be a Real Man: strong, able, efficient to meet any challenge. The father dreams of his son carrying on the family name and beliefs.
         The earthly father never expects his son to hang around home, sleep all day, and wait for the father to tell him what to do. Not, after the son has reached the age of accountability.
         What would an ideal earthly father expect of his grown son who had accepted his own manhood?
         When the son becomes a man, I see two men now working side by side. It’s no longer a father-child relationship, but a father-son (Father-Son) where mutual respect and help is given and received. Where they have the same goals but are now taking different natural paths to reach those goals.

         When the son realizes he has reached man-hood, he will have a natural desire to pull away from his father’s home so he can go out and find a home for himself and his family. This is as much a part of God’s plan for his Maximized Manhood as it is for the spiritual sons of God who must pull away from the personal relationship their earthly father has with God, to form his own relationship with God. If his earthly spiritual teacher/father has instilled the TRUTH in him, the TRUTH will go with him as he becomes his own man of God. It has not bee wasted. It will be productive.
         A real Man of God, no longer blames his earthly father or spiritual teacher for “Not Letting Him Go.” When he recognizes that he is a man … with equal access to God, the only TRUE FATHER, he is able to release his need to have a natural man tell him every step he must take, because a True Man of God, hears his Father’s voice in his Father’s Book, and by His Father’s Spirit.
         I do pray that earthly pastors pray and recognize when their spiritual children have become sons who are men. When pastors recognize this, they will be able to release these sons to God…their True Heavenly Father… and encourage them to go where their mutual Father is leading them. It could be a mistake to send them out if they have not been taught how to hear from their Heavenly Father for themselves. On the other hand, the Heavenly Father may have to teach them that Himself if they have not learned it at home.
         Perhaps some will stay and help run the family business or ministry, but God may call others to go somewhere else of His choosing.

         When the earthly spiritual parent and son are in agreement…the son will always feel free to ask his earthly spiritual father, who is also his brother, for advice.
          The older will always be able to teach the younger because of their experience. God planned it this way. Both the teacher and the student must be subject to God first, no matter what. Then they are both REAL MEN.

WHEN I WAS A CHILD
I SPAKE as a Child,
I UNDERSTOOD as a Child,
I THOUGHT as a Child.
But
When I became a MAN,
I
Put away Childish things.
(I Corinthians 13:11)

         Are some of us still speaking, understanding, and thinking like children? Or, have we recognized and accepted our True Man-hood and Son-Ship with God?

[Dear Readers: I hope you understand that each “Fresh Bread” is a lesson for me, and hopefully for someone else. As my son Brent says: “When there is no hope in the future…there is no planning in the present.”]

ACTION: Today, I will attempt to remain aware of little ways (thoughts, actions, words I speak) that sound like a child. Often, recognition of where we are…leads to where we want to go. I too, desire to move away from childhood and walk more consistently in Son-Ship with my Heavenly Father.