172: Fieldnotes with Pablo Ceron (Part 1)

...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,  and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts... – Saint Paul Friends, Life is hard. Damn hard.  And, brothers, with the convergence of the headlines, the violent speed of life, and the hyperindividualism of this hour, there is little hope that life will get easier.  Haunting the masculine soul with uncertainty, pain, and tragedy, we’re left with quite a predicament.  Before a man can even honestly utter what he must do to thrive in this hour, a deeper question cries out.  Who must I become to live and love well?  The answer lies in the depths of the image of God in us as men: In times of uncertainty, there is a special breed of warrior ready to answer our Kingdom’s call; a common man with an uncommon desire to love. Forged by adversity, he stands alongside God’s finest warriors to serve his Kingdom and to serve the people God has placed under his care, and to protect their way of life. I am that man. We are that man.  Though dormant in varying degrees and dimensions, this identity is nonetheless concrete. It is who we are, and who we are becoming. Design indeed reveals destiny. And the intentioned destiny of our Father in and through our hearts and stories as men will triumph.  Let’s dive in.  For the Kingdom, Morgan