The Modern Christ Man

16I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Galations 5: 16 - 17 NKJV

I was listening to a radio preacher this past week as he entered into a story about being a loving father.  It seems this modern man of God was sitting in a Sunday service with his family when the pastor made a comment referencing John 11:35.  Of course, this is the passage where Christ wept over the death of His friend Lazarus.  This pastors point was that the modern christian man should NEVER be ashamed to show those emotions which his heavenly Father created.  Well, for whatever reason, this modern christian man stood up and walked out of that service in a huff.  I guess that I can understand his attitude to a point, for I grew up in a generation in which men were considered weak if and when they showed emotion of any kind.  In fact, growing up I recall words such as sissy, pansie and worse used to describe someone who dared to show his God given emotions.  Now to any who may still hold to this code of male conduct I offer a question.  If we as men are called to exhibit Christ Jesus who is within us, why do we feel that showing our emotions is still not the man thing to do?  Women, sure, they can do that sort of thing.  However, we are men and we're supposed to be rough and tumble and strong!  This is just what the world expects from us, so we're told.  Were these the very thoughts that were cascading through Jesus' mind that day when He was told of His friends death?  We might never know, but Jesus didn't damn up His emotions in this instance, He let them show.

33Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. 34And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” 35Jesus wept. 36Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
John 11: 33 - 35 NKJV

I find it interesting that when Jesus wept that the Jews surrounding Him didn't react with shock and dismay that a man would show such emotion in public.  Now, the culture of Jesus' day was certainly male dominted as our own has been for more than a few generations.  Yet those around Jesus were not shocked with His showing of His emotions.  Obviously men before had done the same before Him.  My point is this, should we men of this modern generation be in fear of showing our emotions?  I know that people of my dads generation expected this from us.  I will take a leap of faith and claim that this IS NOT a man who is exhibiting Christ who is within him.  That being said, a man can certainly have Christ Jesus within him and not exhibit his emotions openly.  This does not invalidate our inheritance and future in Christ.  I can definately call this a condition of our human flesh and not a exhibit of the Spirit of Christ within us.  The spirit is very so often willing, but our flesh is weak.  Let us never believe that simply because our emotions do not show when everyone expects they should that we somehow are lacking the Spirit of Jesus within us.  It is because Christ is within us that we exhibit His Spirit as we walk each and every day in Him, even if we walk out on a sermon or two.

~Scott~