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I chose
Man of Valor as a challenge of what I should be rather than a description of who I am.
Man of Valor, where did I get that name for my web site; what does it mean anyway? The inspiration for the name comes from the story of Gideon in the Old Testament of the Bible (read Judges chapter 6 for the entire story). When the angel of the Lord came to Gideon, he was hiding out in a winepress (a hole in the ground) from the Israelite's enemies to thrash some grain (separate the kernels from the head). Not a very courageous or brave thing to do. Yet the angel of the Lord greeted him as "mighty man of valor". Gideon's response was the equivalent of, "Huh, who me? You talkin' to me!"
That's pretty much the way I feel - God calls me, as a Christian man, to be courageous, to fight for the good and the true, to stand of something at all costs, to defend those who depend on me. A book that has helped me understand what it means to be that kind of man is John Eldredge's Wild at Heart. In it he says that men, made in the image of God, have three desires.
There are three desires I find written so deeply into my heart I know now I can no longer disregard them without losing my soul. They are core to who and what I am and yearn to be. I gaze into boyhood, I search the pages of literature, I listen carefully to many, many men, and I am convinced these desires are universal, a clue into masculinity itself. They may be misplaced, forgotten, or misdirected, but in the heart of every man is a desperate desire for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue. (page 9)
He continues to describe the battle:
… God has a battle to fight, and the battle is for our freedom. As Tremper Longman says, "virtually every book of the Bible - Old and New and Testaments - and almost every page tells us about God's warring activity." (page 25}This is the battle God invites us men to join. It is a spiritual battle, fought in the heavenly far more than this world, but it is a battle it takes valor to fight.
Eldredge develops a picture of an adventurous God without sacrificing his sovereignty. He says:
…God is a person who takes immense risks. No doubt the biggest risk of all was when he gave angels and men free will, including the freedom to reject him - not just once but every single day. … He did not make Adam and Eve obey him. He took a risk. A staggering risk, with staggering consequences. He let others into his story, and he lets their choices shape it profoundly. (pages 30-31)This is the life of adventuring with God we are invited to join as his children. He invites both men and women to join him on the great adventure of entering into an ever-deepening relationship with him. That, too, requires valor.
Finally, a beauty to fight for. Eldredge says:
God is a romantic at heart, and he has his own bride (in the Old Testament Israel and today the church) to fight for. He is a jealous lover, and his jealousy is for the hearts of his people and for their freedom. As Francis Frangipane so truly states, "Rescue is the constant pattern of God's activity." (page 34)It takes valor to fight for the beauty be she the church or the helpmate God gives to a man in his wife. Even if we men are not married we seek the beauty to fight for, a great romance to live out. The search itself as well as the fight requires valor.
Taking all these factors into account I chose Man of Valor as a challenge of what I should be rather than a description of who I am. It's who I want to be and keep striving to become. I hope it will challenge the men who visit this site to join me in seeking to be men of valor.
As for the women who visit, I hope you will encourage valor in the lives of the men around you. God also calls women to a deep relationship with him and the adventure such a relationship entails. God has the same goal for both men and women, to know him, but men and women approach him differently according to both the differences between the sexes and the differences between individuals. Please don't think I am being sexist or putting women down with my emphasis on men needing to be valiant. As a man, I am addressing what I think is the great need in my soul as well as souls of other men. For more on the struggles and needs of women may I suggest Angela Thomas' book Do You Think I'm Beautiful.
Contact me with your thoughts on being a Man of Valor.