Who is the man that other men should emulate? Who is the consummate role model for young men to model their lives after? For most of my life, I’ve heard how impressionable young men have only the flash and dash of cars, clothes, money, and women to give them hope for better days ahead. You know the drill: athletes and entertainers instead of doctors and lawyers because doctors and lawyers simply don’t come around the ‘hood’ much.
Allow me to leave drug dealers and criminals out of this for the moment, although they do play a part in shaping the minds of young men, particularly in the inner city. Again, who is the best example of what real manhood is all about?
I recently heard a warden of a Louisiana prison say that Bishop T.D. Jakes of the Potter’s House, through his prison ministry, was having success in showing inmates that the best example of manhood, in its finest and highest state, was in Jesus Christ. Now, this should not have surprised me, but it did. The realization that many of the apostles were themselves incarcerated and much of the bible was written from jail gave me pause to think of Christ differently from my storybook view before I came to see Him as the key to eternal life.
If you think about it, Jesus was the embodiment of mercy and forgiveness, his integrity and value system, and His respect for persons and property. This was a man of class, conscience, vision, virtue, conviction, and character. Needless to say, these attributes got him humiliated, hated, incarcerated, betrayed, and ultimately crucified. But in the face of a man’s absolute failure to embrace God’s word, He would not compromise His mission of bringing grace to the world. He wouldn’t abandon the fulfillment of the contract of the covenant for momentary comfort or fleeting convenience. He was a revolutionary of the highest order. He was uncompromising in His faith. It is not then a wonder to me that no one since has come close to the impact He had and has on the lives of all of us.
Upon closer inspection of His life (not what someone told me but what the bible says about Him), I understand, agree with, and accept Jesus Christ as my personal role model. It’s a challenge I know I can never live up to, but one I willingly accept. The alternatives in this life pale significantly by comparison. There is no substitute for trying to be one with the Creator. The answer to life lies in the search for the subsequent honoring of God. The key is following a path already laid out for all of mankind.“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 2:4.
May God bless and keep you always.
This column is from James Washington’s Spiritually Speaking: Reflections for and from a New Christian. You can purchase this enlightening book on Amazon and start your journey toward spiritual enlightenment.
