Two months ago, as part of the 30 Days to a Better Man project, I posted my five core values. I’ve decided that they’re one subject that could do with a little more explanation. So here’s value number one: Christ.

“And the witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”
I John 5:11-12

Want to be a man? Get a life. I’m serious. What’s your purpose? What drives you? What is life all about? Even aside from Christ, I’ve never met a real man who didn’t have a sense of purpose about him. Think about your friends who are playing video games every spare minute and don’t ever do anything productive without someone standing over them. You know what I say to them? Get a life.

Want to be a real man? There’s only one life worth getting, and that’s the one that comes from Christ. God is the ultimate source of manhood, and His life is eternal… and He’s made it available to us. There is no other way to be a real man than to follow Christ and live the will of the father. II Samuel 14:14 tells us that we’re all going to die, but if you’re living in Christ, John 3:16 says you have eternal life!

John 1:1-5 tells us that life has been in Christ - the Word - since “the beginning.” It tells us that all we are, all we see, all that we touch and smell and taste, was created in Christ. It came into being through Christ. Colossians 1:16 tells us that not only was everything created by Him, but that it was created for Him. So if we are to live out the true purpose of our lives, we must live out Him. “To live is Christ,” writes Paul in Philippians 1:21. Galatians 2:20 says, “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,” and John 3:30 tells me, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” Christ is our creator, our life, our purpose.

What do you get without Christ? Romans 3:23 tells us we all sin; Romans 6:23 tells us that because we sin we’ll die. No life without Christ. John 17:3 says that eternal life is to know Christ, whom God has sent.

I won’t claim to always hold true to my first value. I’m a man - read Romans 3:23 again. But I will worship Him with all my might (Matthew 22:37) and give my utmost to live according to Him (Romans 12:1).

Five Core Values: Christ, Truth, Personal Responsibility, Perseverance, Manliness