This recent article on The Stream by Eric Metaxas hits home some interesting points about manhood. Metaxas thinks through a time a few months ago when Kanye West spoke from the Oval Office about his own family experiences that have lacked “male energy.” Metaxas discusses how the concepts of male and female have been deconstructed so much by culture, conjoined with the many fatherless households across the country, has left countless individuals longing for a father figure.
Metaxas raises the important point that many in our culture are in dire need of heroes, people to emulate. Hebrews 11:7 encourages readers to “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” While we have to be careful not to think people are better than they really are, there is much to be gained by finding the great people in our lives and throughout history to learn from, and to attempt to incorporate their ways into our own.
Metaxas has written many books on figures that we can learn a great deal from. Two of these books are 7 Men and 7 Women, both of which tell the stories of great individuals who have shaped the world because of the ways they lived out the gospel. Who are the heroes we look to, who offer guidance in this time of cultural confusion?
Metaxas says:
“We have often said that boys will be boys, but we cannot forget that in the end, boys will be men. That is the real issue, and what kind of men is the real question.”