What Is A Man?

It is appropriate that we begin our series on God’s design for the masculine as we celebrate the birthday of our beautiful Church, on Pentecost! It is only through the gift of the Holy Spirit, the soul of the Church, that the faithful’s call to live the imitatio Christi is possible.

The imitatio Christi, living as the image of Christ—His love, virtue, and sacrifice, manifests itself in the corporeal and spiritual life of men in a precise way. The masculine was lived in perfection throughout the life of Jesus Christ; therefore, men are called in a unique way to live the imitatio Christi through the perfection of their masculinity.

What is a man?

He is a human person, body and soul, who is created in God’s image and likeness—it is through him the fatherhood of God is revealed to the created world.

He is a son. He is called to live the image of Christ in perfection; obedience, virtue, and sacrifice.

He is the passage through which the person of Christ is made present before His earthly kingdom.

He bears the ultimate responsibility for the initiation, protection, and promotion of God’s love.

He is first. Created before the woman, he is designed to fearlessly forge ahead as a protector and provider for his family. He leads because he has a divine gift to recognize the dignity of a woman’s personhood, the sanctity of her God-given gift to bear life, and his responsibility to safeguard those gifts.

For some men, imitating the life of Christ means entering into the vocation of the ministerial priesthood making the person of Christ present within His earthly kingdom. However, all men are called to imitate Christ by serving with the authority of a father and the obedience of a son.

As we explore God’s design for the masculine and His plan for men within His Kingdom, we remember the words of spiritual father, John the Baptist—the man who prepared the way for the Lord. John lived the imitatio Christi with the prayer He must increase, but I must decrease on his lips and within his heart—the perfection of masculinity is a heart completely conformed to Christ.

Download this week’s Pray, Grow, and Serve Devotional here!