REASON 1: As a Christ follower first and foremost, you have to know Him personally and realize His divine authority over all creation.
You cannot grow alone when the supreme heavenly father has a unique plan for your life.
God reveals our life incrementally as we follow him on a daily basis and cultivate our faith. God orders our steps as we diligently search his will. Other Christians are a great source of strength and wisdom and the Bible clearly tells us to forsake not the assembling of the saints.
Corporate worship is a God directed plan that helps us spiritually mature and allows for interaction with other believers. During immense study and prayer our true motives are revealed and hopefully humility is exercised.
Realizing we are simply stewards over what God has entrusted in us will cause extreme care in the way we prepare to handle our resources. Being aware of Gods grace and compassion will create in us a desire to honor our fellow man in a way that we want to be treated.
REASON 2: As a husband, father and son I am overwhelmed with the responsibility bestowed upon me.
As I search for ways to protect and provide for my wife I am reminded of the many conversations with my trusted advisors.
Wiser men before me have experienced trials and temptations beyond my understanding. Listening to the counsel of the spiritual and acknowledging their insights have saved me tremendous anguish in dealing with my own children.
Accountability and Mastermind groups have been at my disposal for my entire adult life. If I had tried to rear my children void of these men’s counsel I would have been clearly unprepared. Traveling by yourself is a lonely place and not a journey I want to experience.
REASON 3: Extended family no doubt has its difficulties.
However, can you even imagine what it would be like at special occasions or holidays without family? If you are experiencing strained relationships I would encourage you to do whatever steps possible to bridge that gap.
We are rapidly experiencing life’s adventures at a pace that surpasses our understanding. Today Uncle George is here and tomorrow he might be gone. Do you have unresolved differences or bruised feelings? Take the higher road today, tomorrow may be too late.
Growing without your extended family is possible but certainly much more enjoyable when its intact.
REASON 4: Friends, the bedrock of the community.
The very source of encouragement in all of our lives. Do you have friends? Are you yourself friendly? I have men in my life that absolutely are the very fiber of my makeup.
I have spent so much time with my friends that we can complete each other’s sentence. When needed or in need my friends are here. You can’t expect to develop friendships from a distance. There is a huge time requirement on both parts when building a lasting friendship. My friends are available not only in times of plenty but also when the harvest is scarce.
A true friend has your back, he’s not a part of the water cooler discussion. How could you ever grow without true friends? There is so much fun in doing life with real men. It would be virtually impossible to have a purposeful and meaningful life without real friends. It is extremely time consuming and draining at times but without question worth it. Go for it, its worth the investment.
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