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A Masculine Role Model
Ephesians 5:25
I don’t know if you’ve heard of Andrew Tate before. It’s probably better if you haven’t. But Andrew Tate is an internet personality who’s rather popular but highly polarizing. He promotes a hypermasculine worldview in which a man’s purpose is to make as much money as he can and sleep with as many women as he can. He often posts pictures of him posing with models or expensive watches or foreign cars. His supporters say that he’s reclaiming masculinity in a feminized world, while his opponents accuse him of misogyny. But one thing the discourse around Andrew Tate shows is that people have very different ideas on what it means to be a man, and indeed, whether or not that’s even a good thing.
As Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, he spells out and shows us what it means to be a man. And although his instructions are directed specifically to husbands, I think there’s things that every man can take away from this. He writes,
Husbands, love your wives, in the same way as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. (Ephesians 5:25)
It’s easy to see why some men like Andrew Tate. His basic message is to do everything you can to serve yourself. But in Christ we see a very different example. Jesus shows us that to be a man means to demonstrate self-sacrificial love. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. He was willing to be tortured and crucified to redeem the one he loved. Jesus paid for our self-centeredness and our selfishness. He denied himself and died on the cross for our benefit, that our sins might be forgiven and that we might live with him forever.
To be a man means to be like Christ. To show the same self-sacrificial love that he did. So instead of looking to Andrew Tate, look to the godly men in your life that show the love of Jesus. Whether that’s a relative, your pastor, or a member of your congregation, look to the Christian role models that God has placed in your life to learn what it means to be a man, that is, to show the love that Christ has shown you. Amen.
