Embrace adventure
Life is designed to be an adventure. That’s it…the big reveal. Easy enough…just make life an adventure, right? Not so fast. Somewhere between shooting bottle rockets at your friends in middle school and your first year of marriage – life gets hard.
Along the way, a fear creeps in that we will let everyone down and you start to feel like you missed something, that you were meant for something greater. At some point, life feels like a struggle to survive instead of an adventure to live. The adventure is easily lost - setbacks, heartache, loss, work can be a grind and marriage just feels hard. As men, we can struggle to engage with all those around us in an authentic way and instead choose to ride it out on our own or simply resign from our post. There is a better way...as men we should embrace our situation and bring the adventure back into our hearts.
As men we have choices in how we see and interface with life. Our actions
are the only thing that we can control. When you realize this, life becomes so much easier. Typically (not universally) men attack life with three responses. Strive, resign or embrace. The first two may be necessary at times while the last will lead to truth and light every time.
Sometimes we must gut it out, bear down, suck it up and just get through it. It is what our dads taught us and it is intended for very short periods of time. Sometimes we must withdraw – keep our cool, take a hit for the team, back up and regroup. Resignation is not a problem when it is part of the solution. Too many times in life resignation turns into “the fade”. THE FADE is a gradual process and it is a lie of the enemy. Instead of facing our problems we find an escape. That can take many forms…golf, hunting, video games, porn or work. Anything to avoid the problems we face and provide an escape. Receding is not a solution…embracing is.
As a man, you alone determine your actions or reactions. You control what comes out of your mouth, you decide if you are building the right habits to support your dreams and you have the power to dictate the health of your relationships. We are called to engage in an authentic way. When you do this…life is so stinking rewarding. The adventure is revealed. Your life becomes a beacon of light for those around you. You meet challenges head on and take setbacks with humility and purpose. Christ says that our life is an adventure to live and he calls us to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10) – your life can naturally lead others to Christ. Embrace your responsibility as a man. Nothing is owed to you. Life is not easy. It is a puzzle to solve and you have what it takes to solve it and live the adventure.
Life is the adventure. Seek and save the lost.
Luke 19:10
