Life Matters - June 4, 2025
The devil cannot create evil. He can only twist and deform what God has created. The devil is not a creator. He is a usurper. The devil cannot create anything, but he manipulated his destructive will into the garden of Eden and continues to manipulate his will into God’s created order wherever he can test and find a weak enough spot that he can turn against us. Against God through His creation.
God has made men tough, masculine, aggressive, the attributes we need to face the world and its elements and come out winning provision for those in our care. God has given us emotional strength and stability, the ability to view life from a dispassionate, abstract, viewpoint in order to make good choices for those we lead. The strength of men is in seeing problems as something to fix—to get through to the other side. There is a softer side to men. They may battle in the arena of markets, contracts, governments, wars, or soil, but at the end of a hard day, days, or perhaps weeks, all he wants once he is on the way and allows his feelings to arise inside, is home. Home! Home where it’s warm in winter and cool in summer, where the kettle sings, the smell of supper wafts on the air, loving children meet him at the door and when he straightens up from their animated hugs; there she is! The beautiful, sweet, soft and loving creature who once upon a time became his best friend and continues as his best friend, his confidante, in marriage.
At least that’s the way a man’s dreams work. And sometimes life is a dream come true. Then again, reality may mean his wife is distraught with the ‘kids’ when he comes home, he may need to settle squabbles, fix plumbing, do barn chores, sit down to a dried out supper, only to have the dog yapping at a cow, or cows, having escaped confinement through a gate left open. The list of possible interruptions could be endless, but you get the point. Most of them are nobody’s fault, really, but there they are, his dreams, shattered by a burst of reality.
But such a man’s dreams must not be forsaken, mocked, belittled, scoffed at. Dream, pray for, guide to safety, those over whom the devil wants to usurp authority. This is where men are most vulnerable, emotionally speaking. Every man’s emotional love is tested in time. Life isn’t perfect. Real life doesn’t just consist of video clips. Real life can be harsh. But a man must continue to dream, to press on, for the goal in his dream. A man’s committed love must carry on when his emotions aren’t as he dreamed. Then when the squabbles are settled, the cows are in their enclosure, the plumbing is fixed, and his hunger is satisfied, when he and his family settle in the living room and his appreciative wife snuggles next to him, he may well look around the room and think (perhaps he should say it) ‘’ahh, this is what I bust myself for every day. This is it. Love has won another day. Let’s do it again tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. All the weeks, the months, the years, for as much time as God gives us; let’s do it!’’
‘’Let’s do it together’’ is what she wants to hear. I am not an expert on the softer side of our species, but I do have what I consider insights as my wife expresses herself quite freely. A woman dreams for a man who loves her unconditionally, who is and stays, committed no matter what. She dreams of home to be a place of love, peace, joy, and communication. A safe place. A home where she can add her own personal touch of order, industrious work, and beauty. A restful place. A place where she can be ready with a home-cooked meal prepped to perfection when her husband comes in, or home, whatever the case may be. Home, where the children are cleaned up, respectfully communicative, they greet the man of the house at the door then all sit at the table while the dinner she labored for is still hot. Her husband is a respected man in the community, one she is proud to be with. He is her best friend. If she does work outside the home, it is an ‘extra’ and her husband expresses his appreciation for her extra help, both by saying it and by helping around the house. Then when all is settled and she is rocking the baby she says to no one in particular, ‘’ahh, my family is whom I love and live for.’’
Such dreams are good. Sometimes life is a dream come true. Dreams give an ideal to strive for. But they are, after all, dreams. Real life on this spinning orb may have a woman’s head spinning trying to keep up with all the daily household and little people items vying for attention. Real life doesn’t just consist of video clips and orchestrated movie scenes. Her husband may have fallen off a roof. Or, he might be unfaithful and selfishly go his own way. Or he might struggle financially, crippling her ability to prepare good meals. She may work outside the home and he may be unappreciative. Or at least, appear so. But her dreams are good. Perhaps if she faithfully perseveres, her dreams can live on in her children and in the generations after them. Her dreams must not be scorned, belittled, laughed at. Life can be harsh and her committed love must also carry on when her emotions are not as she dreamed.
Dream on people, but face reality. Be real. Dream, pray, desire that your dreams live on in posterity and have a tempering effect on this world. Loving God is the only safe place. God is love and those who put their trust in Him not only love Him but also the people of His creation.
God created man and woman to fill separate roles better together. Then when the tough, the efficient, his masculine strength, gets old and weak, her youth fades, her servant’s heart is confined by her age, God is still saying, ‘’I created you’’ and ‘’My grace is sufficient for thee, my strength is made perfect in weakness.’’ ‘’Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.’’
Life Matters!