We have put allot of time into the Journey of the Son. And there is reason for that. It is the basis for our further journeys, as if we were to stack them one upon the other. We move from the Beloved Son to the Loyal Brother, to the Vital Man, to the Devoted Husband, to the Strong Father, and finally, to the Veteran Sage. Sonship stands as foundational for all the others. It is the cornerstone of a man’s identity and growth. A beloved son makes a loyal brother, a beloved son and brother make a good man. And so on we stack these identities, adding each one upon the other as we move on to the identity of a husband, a father, and a sage.
Given my pastoral experience, the problems or struggles a man faces in any of these latter stages usually points back to an issue in childhood; that is, to a gap or wound in sonship. Thus, to revive or heal the son in every man is to strengthen him in each successive identity. It is easy to imagine that a wounded son is going to make a wounded man and father. And so to face one’s journey of sonship, to accept it, to put it on the path to healing, and to lift it up to God, will make any man a better man, father, husband, brother, etc.
That process of facing that journey of sonship can be complex. There are many facets of doing this…. I will be bringing some up. How start? Be still long enough to listen to your heart, wait upon God to speak, and you will be amazed at what he reveals.
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2 comments:
Father:
I enjoyed this post. Lifting all we have to God is the key to the success of remaining in His love. Young ones, especially in this age have an advantage to have a great relationship with God. Love for the world takes away that advantage. I pray for the youths today to be silent for a moment and listen to God. Yes, they will be amazed at what He has to say in regards to His love for them. God bless you father as you enjoy this day and the week ahead. Prosit.
Father:
Just thinking about your stages (son, brother, husband, father and sage).
I clearly missed the first two stages (personally) becoming a poor husband and an father without a compass.
So, among the first issues is the repair job to restore sonship and brotherhood. I spent one full year working on the Our Father to pray it with love for the Father. Just to give you a sense for the length of one repair.
Interestingly, I have naturally gone on to realize that I need the brotherhood from my Lord Jesus. Someone to model myself after. My 3-year old is teachng me this by how he wants to mimic his older 5-year old brother. (I never had a brother.) I think the small Mens Group setting will heal this aspect.
My question to you is about the "sage". I'm inclined toward "patriarch" for two reasons. First, patriarch is more coincident with the "archbishop" or other heirarchy within the Church that is a very good model. Second, patriarch seems to imply more of an on-going protector mode. Like 'sage', patriarch also implies wisdom and stability.
Please pardon my wordsmithing - I view this as an evolving understanding that you too are working to derive and discern.
Faithfully yours,
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