A Reflection on Manhood I wish I was that guy, you know the one, I wish I was that guy … who loved more authentically, who pursued that which is true more diligently, who expressed tenderness more consistently, who loved his family more constantly, who lived more fully, who gave more, who lied less. The Man I should be… is more forgiving, is much more faithful, much more caring, more gentle, more of Love personified. Is is possible for a Man to be more than he now is? Can he be… a man who spends his days living for bigger dreams? a man who hungers with each breath to reach for more? a man who is done with the false pursuit of empty pleasure? a man who looks at a woman and admires beauty while desiring more? a man who lusts for that which is pure and noble and good and right? a man who admits his failure and seeks to do better? a man who sees the failures of others and extends grace? a man who loves the ones who have shunned love? a man who in loving one woman loves them all? a man who views character as his chief trophy? a man who longs for justice and mercy? a man who revels in charity? a man who knows his God? I see glimpses of this man in me from time to time, yet that vision is all too fleeting. I sense the urge to find that man, to be that man, but too infrequently. I can taste, experience, feel, and share in the life of that man, yet too seldom do I live there. My desire, my aim, my thirst, my quest, my only hope, is to be that man more and more every day. My prayer, and my sustenance, is to embrace the gift of God, that gift which, alone, grants me the passion to be the Man, the Man, the person, the one, the one God desires me to be. May God, my God, give me resource to be the man, No, rather, may I take in, fully, the resource Gods extends to me every moment, that I may be the man for all seasons, for all people, for all relationships, for each moment, That I might love her, encourage him, inspire them, and truly worship Him. God, oh my God, make me THAT man. May it be done through The Man, Yes, Jesus, the One who, alone, lived as all men ought to live, and who, alone, makes us, makes me, the man you would love for me to be. Amen. The Man Bruce Smith optimuslife.org