God's Design for MenSample

Redeemed Men

So far, we’ve acknowledged that God made men on purpose and that His design for men is good.

That’s easy enough to say, but we also know that men do a lot of bad things. I once saw two male strangers street-fighting because one felt the other had given him “a look.” Neither backed down, things quickly escalated, and fists started flying.

Of course, men and women sin equally, but as this is a men’s devotional, we will be taking the manly perspective on these things.

When our first father, Adam, fell, he set the example that every man since him has followed: we turn away from God, choose our own path in unhealthy and destructive directions, and reap the consequences of our actions (Genesis 3:1-24; Isaiah 53:6).

In our broken state, men do indeed do many “toxic” things; we are enslaved to pride, ego, selfishness, lust, violence, anger, laziness—all manner of sinful actions and attitudes that flow from sinful hearts and ultimately lead us to our own death (Romans 6:23).

This is not God’s good design for men.

In today’s verses, we see how Adam opened the door for sin and death to enter the world and corrupt the hearts of men, but God was not willing to leave us there.

Jesus, the perfect Man, changed everything.

Out of His great love for us, God sent Jesus to the earth to show us what God is like, live a perfect example for us to follow, pay the price for our sins on the Cross, and triumph over death forever in His Resurrection. He single-handedly sets men free from their sins and overcomes their fear of death, releasing us to become the men He designed us to be.

Men are at their best when they embrace and live out of this truth. Jesus redeemed every single part of our fallenness, including our fallen masculinity. Now that a man’s sins can be forgiven and he can be reunited with God, he is set on a holier path, leaving toxic ways behind and increasingly being transformed by the Holy Spirit into a man who looks like the perfect Man.

God’s design for men is the Gospel; the Good News that a man’s sin can be forgiven, his life can extend forever, he can be welcomed into God’s family, and he can be transformed into the good man God originally intended Him to be.

Prayer: Lord, thank You for not leaving me in my fallenness and sin. Thank You for dying and rising from the dead for me. Take any parts of my masculinity that are still broken and redeem them fully by Your power and grace. Amen.

Reflection: What parts of your masculinity still feel “fallen” and unhealthy? What parts reflect who Jesus is (understanding that no one is perfect!)? Spend some time inviting God into those broken pieces and asking Him to restore them to goodness.