Celebrating the Ax Men

I woke up this morning, almost startled out of sleep at 4 am, when my mind drifted from a lazy dream wandering around my consciousness, to a bright white title page with bold print declaring a chapter heading: "Ax Men". I didn’t get to see any text with it as I suddenly bolted awake, but I knew what it meant as my eyes opened in the darkness of my room.

Ax Men are those men in our lives that are very precious gifts in our lives. They are the dragon slayers. They are the men who take their role in our lives very seriously. They put their ax to the trees that were never meant to grow in our lives. They call out God’s truth, chopping at the twisted, woody roots and thorny vines of deception that have grown around our hearts and minds. By their words and actions, they release a clarion call to whither spiritual root systems that seem to anchor us inside prison cells of B.S. belief systems. These heroes in our lives speak with persistent, faithful truth-telling, and cut through those roots and vines, liberating us to walk in the truths and promises of God’s Word, that were somehow hidden from us in the past, but suddenly reveal the “less than” that we have become so used to walking in in life.

As I rushed to grab my laptop to type this emerging revelation, my husband came to mind. Earlier in our marriage, when I would be struggling with some emotional stronghold, knowing I was getting twisted up about the latest situation, he would periodically ask me, “Where is your faith?” He didn’t do it often, but when it did, it was a wake up call that I was being dragged around by my fears. “Where is your faith?” I didn’t appreciate it at the time, taking it as a jab, instead of the spiritual challenge God intended it to be to live in steadfast fearlessness. I now see it as an opportunity to fully appreciate the power of that particular piece of armor in Ephesians chapter 6: the “shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the fiery darts of the enemy.” That memory came up recently in a “prayer dock” time, and it was then that I realized the power of the question Steve had asked me. Instead of a cold glass of water in the face, an accusation from the enemy meant as a slam, it was an invitation to take my eyes off the problem and put my focus squarely on the power of my Savior. A perspective shift in the face of fearful situations that had the power to decimate that B.S. belief system! Worry and fear had absolutely NO ability to fix the problem I was concerned about. Jesus clearly said worrying can’t “add one cubit to your height” (Matthew 6:27) and Paul exhorted us to “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made to known to God”. Why? Because “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

Another one of the “ax men” in my life is one of my son’s best friends, Jesse. He gave a teaching around Galatians chapter 5 about our liberty in Christ. When he brought up verse 16, it literally set ax to the root of the lying expectation that we are doomed to sin until Jesus comes back, when God’s Word clearly points out we have different options! He pointed out that if we “walk in the Spirit, you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh”, and emphasized the word choices used in several translations - "shall not" or "will not" - not "might not" or "maybe", but WILL NOT. That was mind-blowing to me! It said it right in God’s Word! I must have read it dozens of times before in various Bible in a year reading plans, but it never had the impact it did that day. “If you walk in the Spirit, You shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.” So if I choose to sin, it becomes a clear indication that I have diverted my feet to a different path. The Good News is that I don’t have to stay there! We can follow up this earth-rocking declaration with repentance, confession and the cleansing of the Spirit to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4) on the path Jesus created for us through His death and resurrection! God created “exit ramps” all along the “broad path”, so we can choose to get back on the narrow way. How awesome is that?

We owe such a debt of gratitude to the Ax Men in our lives! The husbands, pastors, friends, and truth-tellers in our lives who re-orient our focus by chopping at the roots that try to "choke out the Word" ( Mark 4:19) are a gift beyond measure! How fitting it is for this to come to mind on Christmas Morning! Who are the “Ax Men” in your life? I think a hearty “thank you” is definitely in order!