Brothers, we carry on our shoulders, a very heavy burden. We carry the duty of being true salt and light in our homes. We carry the weight of being full reflections of Jesus in our families. We carry the responsibility of being stewards of God’s grace to our wives and children. This is not a light thing at all.

I’m more and more convinced that the weaknesses and failures of many marriages are tied to the failures of manhood. We as men have failed to live up to the high calling of our priesthood. There are too many gaps. There are too many open windows for foxes to climb through. Foxes are devouring our wives and children because we were sleeping. There are too many roots that should never have grown in the first place if we’d been vigilant. Those roots needed to have been uprooted if we had done our jobs right. Now they threaten our homes and marriages.

Too many women are crying. Too many of our dear sisters are bleeding. They feel lost. They feel robbed. They feel abused. They feel neglected. They feel unloved. They feel used. By the men in their lives. But this ought not to be. We need to arise to reverse this tide. We need to arise to take action. We need to clean tears and bring healing. We need to be Christ to them – healing and wiping away tears. This is our primary calling.

Where are the men who will carry the yoke of Christ and love without reservation; to love their wives and children the way Christ loves? Where are the brothers who will nourish and cherish and serve them selflessly? Where are the men who will make the joy and welfare of their family their priority? Where are they? Are you one of them? Are you challenging others to live in this way? We need to help each other, dear brothers!

My brothers, we can change the world if we start by changing our attitudes towards manhood. We can change the world if we develop softer hearts towards our families. We can change the world if we stoop to conquer. Our families will light up with happiness and celebration. They will feel fulfilled and elevated as we use our manhood strength for their wellbeing. We will be changing the world if we started by changing ourselves. The world is breaking up. Marriages are dying. Children are giving up on family values. It’s a call for men to arise and stop this global bleeding.

So how must we begin. We begin by honest self-auditing. Are we loving and caring and serving and nurturing as Christ would? If not, let’s be honest about it. And then let’s repent and seek grace for change. Unless we are like Christ to our family, every other thing we are doing is vanity. It’s meaningless in the scale of eternal priorities. We are actually worse than infidels if we don’t take care of our households. Taking care of them starts with patiently loving, serving and honoring our families.

Brothers, join me on your knees as we repent for our failures and as we seek restoration to our broken families. It’s time to rise up with our God-given strength to lovingly change the direction of our families, and intentionally provoke other men to do same. If we get this right, our families will flourish like never before, and we will receive from our Lord, the reward specially reserved for faithful men. Amen.