Original: January 16, 2008
McMinnville, OR
7 For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.8 I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother's sons; 9 for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.10 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn…Psalm 69:7-10
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
January is the most exciting month of the year for me. January is a new beginning, a breath of fresh air, a clean slate and a second chance. This is the month that I formulate and adjust my goals for the coming year. Each year I try to have a theme or objective such as my theme for 2011, “Go for it!” The annual theme incites me to set new goals, keep my faith fresh and my heart free.
Free because the propensity of church is to tame the man. Possibly the greatest temptation for the man of God is to be tamed by a domesticated, feminine Church. I have nothing against being feminine unless, that is, you are a man. It seems, I may be wrong, that men in America have been domesticated by the Church, tamed by technology and civilized by the media.
Men have become afraid of making people angry, being politically incorrect or offending those who believe different than us. Men have given up their side. Men have allowed themselves to be neutered.
Men have surrendered their wild heart for domestic life. Its safety, ease and comfort are appealing. But it is also boring, selfish and anonymous.
I would like to propose something different for men. Wear the crown of thorns that Thomas Carlyle spoke about when he said, “Every noble crown on this earth is, and will forever be a crown of thorns.” Hebrews 12:2 reminds men to, “…fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Maybe you are like me and don’t want to be mocked. You are afraid of being teased about you faith. You are afraid of scorn, rejection and persecution that may come as you live courageously for your King.
It is much easier to be nice, polite, domesticated, and civilized instead of a barbarian for Jesus. In the first section of his book Wild at Heart, John Eldridge speaks about every man needing to have a battle to fight and I cannot agree more. A barbarian without a war soon becomes civilized, domesticated and timid.
Sound familiar?
What war will you declare man? What hill will you die on? What crown of scorns will you gladly wear?
Endure the crown of scorns.
Get out of the corral and fight again. Break through the fence that has domesticated you and the culture that has emasculated you and recapture your warrior’s heart. Renounce a civilized faith for one that will be rejected by men, mocked by the wise, and despised by those in the civilized Church. Return to the place of your birth, your barbarian roots that long to pick up the bloody crown of scorns, press it down firmly onto your bloody scalp and carry the cross of Christ.
Jesus said, "Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:37-39).
