We stopped while canoeing on a log trapped on a sandbar. My son and I waded out to see how gradually the gravel tapered off into the river. His shorter and smaller stature wading out into the headwater quickly swept his feet out from under him and carried him down the river. He tried again holding my hand. We walked out together past the place he was swept away while alone. Soon after this he fell in directly behind me as I walked waist deep in the water. I can't touch anymore he said as we held on to each other. It was on his father's strength and resolve that he was able to continue. He was able to wade deeper and through more turbulence when he relied on his father's strength than when he was alone.
As men I think we don't often realize the truth of the way we live our lives. We are men and God gives us strength and resolve and so we wade out on our own, but the fact is that we are often wading out on our own. What we find is that when we venture out into the tumultuous waters of life with this independent manly attitude we are quickly swept away.
What would it look like to grow a generation of men who were confident as sons not because of their brusque masculinity, but because they walked closely in the wake of their heavenly Father. As the water gets deeper, as the current gets stronger, they remain strong. It is walking this way that leads to bigger and better things than we ever could have imagined or accomplished on our own.
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