A Real Man

Since I am going to be traveling for a few weeks, I'm not sure when I'll be able to post on the blog. So here's something I wrote a few years ago you might find interesting:

"REAL MAN"?
I read in a newspaper about a man who burst into a restaurant in New York, shot two people (fortunately, none were killed) and while brandishing a shotgun, began dousing the patrons with gasoline. He pulled out a fireplace lighter and apparently was about to ignite the people, when two brave women rushed at him and stopped him. Police arrived and in a struggle wounded the man.
In the initial interview with the police, he explained that he had hoped to be shot and killed by the police. It was also discovered that he had been living with AIDS and he said, "A real man chooses when he is going to die."
This is just another example of an unfortunate trend: people willing to die in the act of killing others. I think the answer boils down to this: they had lost a sense of the sacredness of life, and they had lost hope that living in the world was better than death.
A truly "real" man lived to show us a truly better way, truth and life. I believe what many people have been saying: that the church is the hope of the world, because we carryJesus' message of faith, hope, and love. This is the importance of sharing the message of Jesus Christ. I hope that this will be our growing conviction in a world that needs it so much.