I read that and thought, "WOW! Finally someone who can explain why men think and do the things they do." Since I am a member of Book Sneeze at Thomas Nelson, I thought I'd see what this was all about.
John Eldredge wrote this book about ten years ago, and he has now updated it for today's man (and woman). I discovered that men today need permission to really be men. I heartily agree with that statement. Feminists have de-genderized society to the point that I'm not sure who is who anymore.
I have observed within my own experience the three things a man must have in order not to lose his being: 1. Battle to fight, 2. an Adventure to live, and 3. a Beauty of rescue. Each of these three things work together to make up a man's character. One can see perfectly what kind of man a man is when you study the fights he chooses, the adventures he takes, and the kind of Beauty that he links arms with through life.
There was something so satisfying about this book, simply because my 50+ years of observations rang true to what Eldredge was saying. He also does an excellent job in correlating Manly Jesus to manly things, all the while leaving room for tenderness with the Beauty and the Children as he succinctly states, "And all his wildness and all his fierceness are inseparable from his romantic heart...music, wine, poetry, sunsets, those were His inventions, not ours. We simply discovered what He had already thought of."
Its enough to make a maidenly heart flutter. And enough to give men permission to be all they can be, and still be lovely and comely in God's eyes as well as woman's. This is a keeper. Buy it, and give it to your son or husband or nephew or son-in-law. They will appreciate it and so will their wives.
2 comments:
I'm a guy (Lyn is a bit ambiguous, I admit, lol) and read Wild at Heart and had similar thoughts. I would also recommend The Way of the Wild Heart (Eldredge's followup book) as it explains the stages or transitions of manhood. At each stage, we need a kind of initiation into the next era of our lives and often a man's journey is stunted because his father (or significant male figure in his life) didn't/couldn't help in that transition. Eldredge demonstrates that despite that challenge, God is there to initiate us into "manhood" at every stage. I'd recommend this one for women as well in order to reflect on a Christian concept of masculinity. You're right, the world is de-genderizing men and women and Eldredge provides some good counter arguments and correctives. Lyn
Ooops! That is what we get when we assume, isn't it?
I'm so glad to hear your comments because all I've heard is from the female sector. Thank you!
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