There is a vacancy in our homes, our churches, and our world, and God is still looking for the man who will fill it. The good news is that grace is already shaping him.
Imagine a job posting so important that whole families, whole neighborhoods, even whole nations are waiting to see it filled. That is not an exaggeration. In Ezekiel 22:30, God says He searched for a man to stand in the gap on behalf of the land. And God is not the only one searching. Our homes are looking for that man. Our children are looking for him. This church is looking for him. This world is looking for him.
So much of what has gone wrong in our families and our society is tied to this one ache. The man is missing. There is a vacancy. And into that vacancy God speaks a word of hope, because He does not just describe the man He is looking for. He raises him up by His grace.
Why the Vacancy Matters
What would this man actually do if he stepped into the role? He is the one who loves his wife the way Christ loves the church (Ephesians 5). He is the one who does not provoke his children but raises them in the training and instruction of the Lord (Colossians 3). He is the elder in the gates of the city, the one whose wisdom brings deliverance to a whole community. He is the kind of man God can use to turn the world upside down, or perhaps to turn it right side up again.
There are certain things that will simply not get done, that cannot get done, apart from this man. That is why his absence is felt so sharply, and why his presence is such a gift. So today I want to do something bold. I want to call this man forth. Not by pointing at who our men appear to be on their worst days, but by naming who they already are in Christ.
The Vacancy Has Been Filled
Here is the announcement I am glad to make: this vacancy has been filled. By whom? By the men God has placed right here among us. You are the man we have been waiting for. You are the man we have been looking for. So we invite you to come and take your place, in our homes, in this church, in this community.
Why would I say you are exactly the man we have been looking for, and that you should step into your position without hesitation? Because you are a grace life man. And grace, not perfection, is what makes you ready. Let me show you what that means, one letter at a time.
G is for Glorify God
You are the man we have been looking for because you have made up your mind to put God first. You have received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and you are committed to keeping Him number one, above everything else, even above your own ambitions and pursuits. That single decision changes everything downstream of it.
So a word to the wives and children who love these men: do not compete for that first place. Do not try to make yourself number one in his life. Instead, pray for him, encourage him, and support him in every way to keep God at the center, because it is only as he keeps God first that he can properly become the man you are longing for.
R is for Relate
You are the man your family and this church have been looking for because you have decided to relate to others not merely as you love yourself, but as Christ has loved you. You forgive because Jesus forgives you. You overlook offenses because Jesus keeps overlooking yours. You keep caring even when people are ungrateful, because that is exactly how Jesus has cared for you.
And to the families of these men: let us help our fathers by loving them without conditions. Let us not treat them as great only when they do great things. Let us keep believing they are great even in the seasons they feel small in their own eyes. The most powerful thing you can do to help a man rise into his calling is not to tear him down but to lift him up.
A is for Apply the Word
You are the man God is looking for because you are a man of the Word. You love Scripture, you meditate on it, and you apply it in every area of your life. That is why you are like the person described in Psalm 1: planted by streams of water, fruitful in season, roots that hold. It is why you do not panic when things go wrong around you. Your life has been built on the words of Christ, so when the storm comes and the wind blows and the rain falls, you do not collapse. And let us be honest: it is not that you are strong in yourself. It is the Word of God at work in you.
Families, pray that the man in your life would be a man of the Word, and help him get there. Read the Word with him. Discuss it with him. Share it with him. It is the Word, not our words, that truly changes a man. Scripture asks how a young man can keep his way pure, and answers, by living according to God's Word (Psalm 119:9). It may be time to stop speaking so many of our own words over the men we love, and start speaking God's Word into their lives.
C is for Cultivate Service
You are the man we have been waiting for because you serve rather than wait to be served. You serve your wife and your children. You serve in the church. You serve in the community. And you do it because you believe what Jesus said, that the greatest among us is the one who becomes the servant of all. You are not the man who buried his gift and withdrew it from use. You put your gifts and talents to work, not just to earn a living but to bless the people around you.
So let us notice when our men are serving, and let us not take it for granted. When he takes out the trash, thank him. When he handles the car or helps with the dishes, thank him. Let us not say, that is simply what he is supposed to do. Instead, let us encourage the man who is making himself available to serve.
E is for Evangelism
Finally, you are the man we have been looking for because you are committed to sharing the good news of Jesus, beginning right in your own home. You see it as your responsibility to help your family come to faith. That is why you take the lead in making sure there is prayer and Bible reading in the house, rather than leaving it to your wife or your children. And you are sensitive to where each person is in their walk with God, meeting them there. Families, let us cooperate with our fathers as they step up to lead in faith.
You Are Good Enough for God
So to every man and every father among us, we want to celebrate you. We want you to know that you are the man we have been looking for. We are not praying for a different one. God has given you to us as a gift, and we embrace you, we love you, we accept you.
You are not perfect, but no one is. And here is the heart of grace: if you are good enough for God, you are certainly good enough for us. So rise up. Come and take your place. We trust you, and even more, we put our confidence in the God who is at work in you. You are the man we have been looking for. You are the grace life man.