Dear Will,
What a glorious occasion this is to mark the first move from being a boy to a man. This marks a transition from being cared for to caring for others. You can now move to a position where more is required of you. You have more responsibility toward your family, friends, and local body of Christ. No more can those around you, in response to some childish action you do, say, “That is just Will being a boy.” You are held to a higher standard now as a young man.
Consider yourself in the stage of life where Timothy and Titus are trained for their usefulness. In a sense, you are where Lois and Eunice were training him up in the faith. This is the important step toward masculinity. In any other part of the world, you would not have this step. You would go from being a boy to a man—none of this adolescence stuff that has only been around for about seventy years. In a day, you would take on courage, valor, and strength. You may even be taken from your house, your mother, and be whisked away with other young men to the house of men. You would not be allowed to return to your house of youth. You would have to think, provide, and fend for yourself. Now, this is not going to happen, but the move, in a sense, does. You now have a sphere of responsibility, action, boldness, and humility.
Be like Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, Will—wild, but good. Make him one of your heroes. Spend time in nature. Learn how to use a knife. Continue learning how to fight and defend through martial arts. As a young man, you must fight evil. This world is full of evil—evil that kills people and societies, and evil that harms and diminishes life lived fully. The world is at most times “red-tooth and claw.” Unfortunately, the lion cannot lie down with the lamb; the lamb will be eaten. This means that Thomas Kincaid is not a good artist for this world; he only envisions heaven, and heaven is not yet come. We must keep the tension in hand that this world is both fallen and redeemed.
Recognize, also, that evil resides in you—the fleshly nature. You must know yourself. Why are you prone to certain vices? It is because of fallenness and pride. By understanding this, you can see the consequences in the world around you. Pride is the root of sin. Know pride within yourself, and you will know why men around you do what they do. You must develop discipline in your life. Know your tendency toward pride and disrespect. Know how to deal with your anger, for that is only the result of not getting your way.
Don’t see Christianity as a list of dos and don’ts. Remember you were not only saved from something (world, flesh, and the devil, hell) but toward something (life in Christ, freedom, holiness, truth, goodness, beauty, and heaven). Seek to know and act in this way, and you will, as the Psalmist says, “cleanse your path.”
Guard against to the tendency toward peer pressure. You must continue to obey your parents; honor them. Both of them. You ignore your dad; you ignore your Dad in heaven. Learn from him, and you will learn about your Father.
You must continue to read. Master English grammar (putting together sentences and making a complete thought), for this will teach you how language works. Over the next several years and once you master grammar, move to dialectic (how to make sense and form argument). Finally, understand rhetoric (how to write and speak beautifully). If you do this, you will be well on the road to changing the world.
Figure out what your name means. A name is a cup-full of meanings. You may know what your name means from a name etymology, but over time ‘Will’ takes on more meaning. Your father has named you at birth with certain intentions, but for many years now, he has been naming you by telling who are, what you can do, how to be a good child, what you’re good at, and what you’re not good at. This all becomes your identity. Will also means you’re associated with the Plyler family, but it now means you are a part of the global body of Christ. Will has come to mean a louder, witty boy at church, but also one who does well at AWANA and is on a path to sharpness, creativity, and greatness. All these meanings and associations play into the life and meaning of Will.
Now, as you enter the second stage of masculinity, there is a new meaning to your name. Your father, with this event, has knighted you with affirmation. This is another way of showing his love of you and toward you. In a sense, this signifies how God the Father affirmed his Son Jesus at his baptism: “This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.” As a loving and respecting son, you must obey both of your fathers. This new meaning is your responsibility to cultivate.
I’m including with this letter some symbolic items to spur you on toward masculinity. Paul states that we are to be good soldiers for Christ, and at other times, he uses the analogies of a farmer, athlete, and student. All four of these examples show aspects of masculinity. The soldier fights the good fight; the farmer is a hard worker, the athlete trains day in and day out; the student mines for ideas and true knowledge that leads to wisdom and fear of the Lord. The items are yours; use them as you wish. Some are used; some are new. The carabiner represents the athlete who is a rock climber. I have had it for many years and used it for many things. The flower pot, representing the farmer, was intentionally broken to show how sometime we are broken and then built back up. God does a much better job at rebuilding than I do.:) The book of Creeds represents the centuries of the Church from the time of Paul till the present. If you know them, you will know some of the most important ideas in the history of the Church and the Faith. I also included a bookmark that advertises a need to be prepared for the ideas you will face in the world. Finally, water is one of the most important things for good health in the life of the soldier.
I love you, Will. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May his face shine upon you. May you grow in wisdom and understanding into this new realm of life. I look forward to seeing you in the future.
Sincerely,
Your Uncle, Brother, Friend,
Jason
P.S. The Bible reading chart is self-explanatory. Upon reading those passages, you will have a working understanding of the God’s story.
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