How does God lead us into adulthood? On this edition of Live the Promise we look at what it means for a boy to become a man with John Eldredge of Ransomed Heart Ministries, along with his son Sam. John and Sam’s book is . Sam shares his perspective on reaching his generation with transparency.
“My generation was raised on the internet, and we became the lab rats of all these marketing techniques. The by-product of that is that we can tell if something is true or not; we can tell if they’re trying to sell us something.” Sam and John partnered to tackle some important questions for young men stepping into maturity:
On vocation: What do I do in a career? Can I follow my dream? Does God have a calling on my life? Should I settle for stability and security instead of chasing it?
On marriage: How stable do I need to be before I marry? How can I tell if she’s “the one” for me?
On social justice: Does God care about feeding the poor more than saving them?
John says, to understand the heart of man, you must understand one thing first.
“Every man is part boy and part man inside. And we have to be careful who’s running the show. The boy wants life easy, and the boy wants recess and the boy wants ice cream and recess and fun and play and doesn’t want to commit. The point is not to shame the boy but rather to recognize there is a journey that men have taken for thousands of years… There’s a process by which God forges a man. Before you become successful, before your dreams come true, you actually have to become the kind of person that can handle it.”
John and Sam urge young men and older men to speak into each other’s lives. Through prayer, community, and soul-searching to find who they are in Christ, young men can kill the lions they face – fear, despair, and entitlement.
Key Scriptures: 1 Samuel 17:34-37; Psalm 73:26
Theme Song: Desert Song by Hillsong
