I have written before on how I see the spiritual in many different things. Books, music, movies; and not just so-called Christian ones. More often than not I see the things of God in the everyday, even secular things. Jim and I had a wonderful drive up to Jerome on Sunday and the scenery so reminded me of the movie 'Last of the Mohicans' that we watched it when we got home. What a brutal, beautiful movie. And it is brutal. The violence is appalling, as it should be. War is hell and to see it so graphically portrayed gives you an understanding of the times and the people. People drawn into a conflict that they wanted no part of, men fighting to protect their loved ones and the right to provide for them, women coming alongside their men in battle and in peace.
You look at times like that and its easy to see the differing roles of men and women. It is taken back to the nitty gritty; the men provide for their families, do whatever it takes to protect them and to give them a feeling of safety and security. The women are not lesser, they just fill a different role. You say that today and it is anathema to most women. We have fallen into the trap of either, or. Either the man is the strong provider and woman is the doormat at home or the woman is a shrew and the man is milquetoast. God did not create us differently to spawn strife, but to inspire us to work together.
As I watched the movie my heart was grieved for the men of our day. You see the men of Hawkeye's time and it is easy to see their role in life. They were providers, protectors, they took care of things no matter how ugly they were, all in the guise of loving their women. Regardless of the task, they did it. They fulfilled their roles and not only knew who they were, others respected them because they earned that respect. Not to be redundant, but they were manly masculine men and I respect and admire that. Today men are in the crossfire, they are told they need to be kinder, gentler, softer and they are by and large portrayed as bumbling incompetent buffoons on tv. Why would you respect someone like that? What is to respect in someone who caves into whiny, mean spirited manipulation? Who folds at the first sign of conflict and has no backbone and no conviction. Or you have the opposite, the man who is violent for violence's sake, verbally abusive and cruel. Two false portrayals of who men are supposed to be. I want to say I'm sorry for being so blunt, but I'm really not. God gave us a wonderful example of what a man is in Jesus and that is what our men of today need to look to. Jesus was strong, a hard worker, intensely physical. He worked with His hands as a carpenter, worked on the boats alongside the fishermen, He was not afraid to get dirty. He spoke His mind, told the hard truths and never apologized for it. But He also was loving, kind, helping others, yes even to the giving of His life. Jesus was no less masculine when He was talking to the Samaritan woman than He was when He overturned the tables in the temple. Just like a precious gem, He was multi-faceted. And He sets the example for men today. Not to get off track, but a man will fight for something, but when he loves what he is fighting for, he has more resolve and dedication. He is more willing to do whatever it takes, to go the extra mile. In the movie, Hawkeye has tracked Cora and the others to the Huron camp. As he walks in with no weapon, he is violently attacked; pushed, shoved, punched. He gets up and keeps walking. His focus is to get Cora and the others to freedom, no matter the cost. He offers up his own life to save theirs, only to have Major Heyward give his life instead for all the others.
We do not see that enough today. Honor, pride, integrity. Strength and resolve. The mind set to do whatever it takes, no matter the cost. As we watched that movie I wept, Jim wept. I wept for the men of today who are told they are useless, that they are basically only drones to work in the hive their whole lives, that they have no legacy to leave. I wept for my husband, who said what do I live for, fight for? My husband, who loves the Lord with his whole heart. Who in my mind gets up each day to slay the dragon for me. I don't fall for the line that I need a knight in shining armor to save me, but I love the fact that he wants to, that he loves me enough to. That this man, who right now is dealing with the incredible pain of a knee injury gets up every morning and goes to work and then feels like he has not done enough when he has to stop and rest. A man who has always provided for his family, who has fought the good fight for us all these years and won't stop until his dying breath. A man who is not afraid to get dirty but who also is kind and gentle and a gentleman also. Who gives honor to women and the elder generation and who strives to be an example to the younger generation. He is like that multi-faceted stone; tough and gentle, hating evil and loving the things of God, set like flint in his convictions yet flexible when he needs to be; he is a man that I respect. And as a woman the way I show that respect is to let him be the man he needs to be, the man God formed him to be, the man that Jesus set the example for. Nothing shows him I love him more than that I respect him. I respect that he has to make the hard decisions, I respect that he comes to me for my opinion, not just riding roughshod over me. I respect that he is willing to take the hard blows for our family, that he is willing to stand up for his beliefs and that he does not back down. I respect most of all that he loves the Lord more than he loves me. Oh, should I have said that?? Yes, I respect that, because I know that a man who loves the Lord the most will love me the best.
So...this brutal, beautiful movie. It models that our existance is peace time and war, it is love and hate, it is life and death. It is a man fighting for what he believes in, living his convictions every day, no matter the cost. It takes a man after God's own heart to be able to, with God's strength and help to overcome and live a victorious life. It is brutal, but it is also beautiful. It is beautiful to see a man who knows who he is, and Whose he is. It is beautiful to see a man who is willing to fight and die for those he loves. It is beautiful to see a man not only earning, but commanding respect and reverence. It is beautiful to see and acknowledge the differences between men and women and not be threatened by them, but to celebrate them. It is beautiful to see that as we become one flesh in God, through marriage that He is glorified. That the contrasts highlight the artisty of all that God created in us, instead of detracting from us. When we understand that, when we are not threatened by that, when we embrace the differences in who we are, we grow stronger. A line that Cora spoke in the beginning of the movie resonates. Hawkeye speaks to her of the realities of life there, and she answers, 'You are right. We do not understand what is happening here. And it's not as I imagined it would be.' He then basically apologizes that he blew her false assumptions out of the water and she answers, 'No, on the contrary. It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imagining could possibly have been.' As we walk in the truth of who God formed us to be, as we treat each other as the gifts that God intended us to be for each other it truly is a revelation. It truly does stir our blood as nothing we could have ever imagined.
You look at times like that and its easy to see the differing roles of men and women. It is taken back to the nitty gritty; the men provide for their families, do whatever it takes to protect them and to give them a feeling of safety and security. The women are not lesser, they just fill a different role. You say that today and it is anathema to most women. We have fallen into the trap of either, or. Either the man is the strong provider and woman is the doormat at home or the woman is a shrew and the man is milquetoast. God did not create us differently to spawn strife, but to inspire us to work together.
As I watched the movie my heart was grieved for the men of our day. You see the men of Hawkeye's time and it is easy to see their role in life. They were providers, protectors, they took care of things no matter how ugly they were, all in the guise of loving their women. Regardless of the task, they did it. They fulfilled their roles and not only knew who they were, others respected them because they earned that respect. Not to be redundant, but they were manly masculine men and I respect and admire that. Today men are in the crossfire, they are told they need to be kinder, gentler, softer and they are by and large portrayed as bumbling incompetent buffoons on tv. Why would you respect someone like that? What is to respect in someone who caves into whiny, mean spirited manipulation? Who folds at the first sign of conflict and has no backbone and no conviction. Or you have the opposite, the man who is violent for violence's sake, verbally abusive and cruel. Two false portrayals of who men are supposed to be. I want to say I'm sorry for being so blunt, but I'm really not. God gave us a wonderful example of what a man is in Jesus and that is what our men of today need to look to. Jesus was strong, a hard worker, intensely physical. He worked with His hands as a carpenter, worked on the boats alongside the fishermen, He was not afraid to get dirty. He spoke His mind, told the hard truths and never apologized for it. But He also was loving, kind, helping others, yes even to the giving of His life. Jesus was no less masculine when He was talking to the Samaritan woman than He was when He overturned the tables in the temple. Just like a precious gem, He was multi-faceted. And He sets the example for men today. Not to get off track, but a man will fight for something, but when he loves what he is fighting for, he has more resolve and dedication. He is more willing to do whatever it takes, to go the extra mile. In the movie, Hawkeye has tracked Cora and the others to the Huron camp. As he walks in with no weapon, he is violently attacked; pushed, shoved, punched. He gets up and keeps walking. His focus is to get Cora and the others to freedom, no matter the cost. He offers up his own life to save theirs, only to have Major Heyward give his life instead for all the others.
We do not see that enough today. Honor, pride, integrity. Strength and resolve. The mind set to do whatever it takes, no matter the cost. As we watched that movie I wept, Jim wept. I wept for the men of today who are told they are useless, that they are basically only drones to work in the hive their whole lives, that they have no legacy to leave. I wept for my husband, who said what do I live for, fight for? My husband, who loves the Lord with his whole heart. Who in my mind gets up each day to slay the dragon for me. I don't fall for the line that I need a knight in shining armor to save me, but I love the fact that he wants to, that he loves me enough to. That this man, who right now is dealing with the incredible pain of a knee injury gets up every morning and goes to work and then feels like he has not done enough when he has to stop and rest. A man who has always provided for his family, who has fought the good fight for us all these years and won't stop until his dying breath. A man who is not afraid to get dirty but who also is kind and gentle and a gentleman also. Who gives honor to women and the elder generation and who strives to be an example to the younger generation. He is like that multi-faceted stone; tough and gentle, hating evil and loving the things of God, set like flint in his convictions yet flexible when he needs to be; he is a man that I respect. And as a woman the way I show that respect is to let him be the man he needs to be, the man God formed him to be, the man that Jesus set the example for. Nothing shows him I love him more than that I respect him. I respect that he has to make the hard decisions, I respect that he comes to me for my opinion, not just riding roughshod over me. I respect that he is willing to take the hard blows for our family, that he is willing to stand up for his beliefs and that he does not back down. I respect most of all that he loves the Lord more than he loves me. Oh, should I have said that?? Yes, I respect that, because I know that a man who loves the Lord the most will love me the best.
So...this brutal, beautiful movie. It models that our existance is peace time and war, it is love and hate, it is life and death. It is a man fighting for what he believes in, living his convictions every day, no matter the cost. It takes a man after God's own heart to be able to, with God's strength and help to overcome and live a victorious life. It is brutal, but it is also beautiful. It is beautiful to see a man who knows who he is, and Whose he is. It is beautiful to see a man who is willing to fight and die for those he loves. It is beautiful to see a man not only earning, but commanding respect and reverence. It is beautiful to see and acknowledge the differences between men and women and not be threatened by them, but to celebrate them. It is beautiful to see that as we become one flesh in God, through marriage that He is glorified. That the contrasts highlight the artisty of all that God created in us, instead of detracting from us. When we understand that, when we are not threatened by that, when we embrace the differences in who we are, we grow stronger. A line that Cora spoke in the beginning of the movie resonates. Hawkeye speaks to her of the realities of life there, and she answers, 'You are right. We do not understand what is happening here. And it's not as I imagined it would be.' He then basically apologizes that he blew her false assumptions out of the water and she answers, 'No, on the contrary. It is more deeply stirring to my blood than any imagining could possibly have been.' As we walk in the truth of who God formed us to be, as we treat each other as the gifts that God intended us to be for each other it truly is a revelation. It truly does stir our blood as nothing we could have ever imagined.