eFax of Life from CBMC Heartland

Bored men. Tired women.

He died the week I was there. He was big. And powerful. An honored champion, he'd been selected for the National Finals Rodeo last December and now had just come home from 'kicking-butt' at a rodeo in Klamath Falls, Oregon.

The day he'd come back to the ranch - he'd been put out with his own band of mares. My family has a reputation for breeding/raising/developing some of the toughest bucking horses in the world - and this stud had the wild, passionate, athletic ability we want passed on to future generations.

Stud horses can be dangerous. He started to fight with another stallion across the fence - and the next morning our passionate, powerful, proven professional was found - with his broken leg still tangled in the fence.

Sometimes cuts/breaks can be fixed. This one was too severe and the decision was made on-the-spot to shoot the horse and put him out of his misery.

Sure - my brother Jim was sad. He could have called any of ten other rodeo contractors who would have instantly paid $20,000 for the stud. Now - he had $zero! (Insurance doesn't cover this kind of loss.) But he was sadder still because bucking horses aren't like the cows some ranchers sell as beef to stick between your Big Mac sesame seed buns. No. This horse had been raised as a part of the 50+ year breeding program. He'd been developed - first at 4H rodeos - then high school and college rodeos - and finally, the professional ranks - to be the patriarch-leader of our 'A-Team'. He was a co-laborer, a partner - that loved his part of rodeo as much as my brother Jim loves his.

Me? I'm sad too - but it has nothing to do with rodeo. I'm sad - because as I look around at us Christians - I don't see that kind of dangerous, powerful passion. Instead - I see a bunch of geldings!

I see bored/boring men. And I see tired women. I see little that is seminal/reproductive. I see nothing that causes satan to tremble.

Consider this:

"You remember that wild man, Samson? He's got a pretty impressive masculine resume: killed a lion with his bare hands, pummeled and stripped thirty Philistines when they used his wife against him, and finally, after they burned her to death, he killed a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey. Not a guy to mess with. But did you notice? All those events happened when 'the Spirit of the Lord came upon him' (Judges 15:14). Now, let me make one thing clear: I am not advocating a sort of 'macho man' image. I'm not suggesting we all head off to the gym and then to the beach to kick sand in the faces of wimpy Pharisees. I am attempting to rescue us from a very, very mistaken image we have of God - especially of Jesus - and therefore of men as his image-bearers. Dorothy Sayers wrote that the church has 'very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah,' making him 'a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies.' Is that the God you find in the Bible? To Job - who has questioned God's strength, he replies:

'Do you give the horse his strength or clothe his neck with a flowing mane? Do you make him leap like a locust, striking terror with his proud snorting? He paws fiercely, rejoicing in his strength, and charges into the fray. He laughs at fear, afraid of nothing; he does not shy away from the sword. The quiver rattles against his side, along with the flashing spear and lance. In frenzied excitement he eats up the ground; he cannot stand still when the trumpet sounds. At the blast of the trumpet he snorts, "Aha!" He catches the scent of battle from afar, the shout of commanders and the battle cry.' (Job 39:19-25)

The warhorse, the stallion, embodies the fierce heart of his Maker. And so do we; every man is 'a stem of that victorious stock.' Or at least, he was originally. You can tell what kind of man you've got simply by noting the impact he has on you. Does he make you bored? Does he scare you with his doctrinal nazism? Does he make you want to scream because he's just so very nice? In the Garden of Gethsemane, in the dead of night, a mob of thugs 'carrying torches, lanterns and weapons' comes to take Christ away. Note the cowardice of it - why didn't they take him during the light of day, down in the town? Does Jesus shrink back in fear? No, he goes to face them head-on.

'Jesus knowing all that was going to happen to Him, went out and asked them, "Who is it you want?"
"Jesus of Nazareth," they replied.

"I am He," Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, "I am He," they drew back and fell to the ground.

Again He asked them, "Who is it you want?"

And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth."

"I told you that I am He," Jesus answered. "If you are looking for Me, then let these men go."' (John 18:4-8)

Talk about strength. The sheer force of Jesus' bold presence knocks the whole posse over." (Wild At Heart by John Eldredge)

Several thousand of these 'faxes' go out each week. Many of you have been readers for over five years. You know my style. Be honest. Transparent. Keep it to one page. Don't ask for money.

Today is different. Two pages. And I'm asking for money and TIME. But the contribution/investment will be for you. Please buy and read the book Wild At Heart by John Eldredge (Thomas Nelson Publishers).

Chuck Swindoll says:

"I have just finished reading John Eldredge's new work, Wild At Heart. I was deeply moved by this excellent book. I believe it is the best, most insightful book I have read in at least the last five years. I plan to read it again through the summer, only this next time, much more slowly. Eldredge shares splendid ideas that he has stated so creatively and, thankfully, free of cliché. New vistas will appear in the readers' minds as they take the wonderful journey of reading this book. His insights on identifying the wound, facing it head-on, then staying with it until the healing transpires will be immensely helpful to many folks. Every man and his wife and every mother of a boy really should read this book."

And I say: read Wild At Heart and you will become powerful, passionate, dangerous - like Jesus.

CBMC Heartland, 07/03/02

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