masculinity

The words we use carry deep meaning – far beyond the dictionary definitions of the words themselves. Are masculine terms for God the best, most helpful words for us to use today? Over and over, Scripture refers to God as "Father" and other male depictions, so is there a justifiable, biblical reason to do anything different when we talk about God?

Christians have bought into a simplistic, primitive caricature of what it means to be a man, and we've elevated it to the level of godliness. It’s like we believe that the closer we get to achieving this model of masculinity, the closer we get to God. But our identity needs to be found in something higher.

I remember several years ago the must-read book for Christian guys was John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul." The book presents men as unilaterally having an inner thirst for "masculinity" that needed to be quenched by "roughing it" in the woods, exerting our physical strength, and defending our women from their weaker natures. The entire time that I read it, I had to fight back questions about myself. I didn't feel drawn to any of these things that Eldredge said should be hardwired into my DNA - was I broken? was I missing something?