"All they wanted was their chance to be men...and he gave it to them." That's the tagline for the classic western, The Cowboys.  Many people, including myself, consider this to be one of the Duke's (John Wayne) greatest films.  It's the story of Wil Anderson, an aging cattle rancher, who needs to get his herd to market.  To his misfortune, most of the able bodied cowhands are off chasing dreams of finding gold.  So, he hires a rather ragtag looking bunch of nine to fifteen year olds.  Not yet men, much less cowboys, these boys turn into real men right before your eyes.

Those youngsters had to ask some hard questions of themselves, "What in the world am I doing here?  Do I have what it takes?  Are we going to make it?"  These are legitimate questions every man must face and answer in life.

We suffer from a lack of role models.  We suffer from a stereotype of television of men as dumb, insensitive Neanderthals who live only to drink beer, make money, chase girls and break things.

What does the Bible say it takes to make a man?  We get at least a little glimpse by considering 1 Corinthians 16:13-14.  "Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.  Let all that you do be done in love."

In the coming weeks we'll be sorting through these one at a time.

Maybe you don't have a herd of cattle to get safely to market.  Maybe you have a wife that needs to be loved and provided for.  Maybe you have sons and daughters that are being raised in a dangerous, out of control world.  Regardless of your mission, God provides a way for you to rise to the occasion as men.

God made men to be passionate.  Man was created in the wilderness.  He was placed in the garden afterward.  Woman was created in a place of order, the garden of Eden.  God doesn't want to tame us, He wants us to be able to release our passions properly.

Remember, Jesus took away our sins, not our backbones.