Reading “Crisis in Masculinity” again by Leanne Payne today. A deep and needed book for our times, by a great christian thinker and teacher, the late Leanne Payne. She wrote this book before its time—it’s for now. In the midst of one of the most global crisis in masculinity in history with the resulting gender confusion and ambiguity, and distrust of all authority; bullying (which is the false masculine), and false feminine, which prostitutes the true image of the feminine in Him.

  One core take away: we need to know God both as masculine and feminine. And we need to have an internalized experience of His Headship, even to govern our own souls and bodies well.

People and whole cultures fall apart when there is a crisis in masculinity. We are in one now. We need a mended image of both motherhood and fatherhood in our day. God contains both, and we too are meant to have healthy masculinity and femininity.

If we are led by feeling, desires or our bodies, we will end up raping ourselves and others. Our Head, needs to be The Head, and internally we govern ourselves with Him—this is the foundation for ethics. We are co-rulers with Him even over our own lives. If we cannot govern ourselves well, how can we hope to bring justice or love outwardly.

 David, the worshiping king (unlike the worshiped kings of the pagan empires), told his own soul to be still and turn to God. He ruled over himself and modeled it. We are to rule with Christ over our own souls. We need both the receptivity and the carving initiating truth speaking aspects to do so.

  Some have an immature feminine so can’t hear and worship and receive from God’s Presence. Others an immature masculine so can’t rule and co-build with Him, and under Him. We need both elements matured in us, in order to know Our God who is both the true masculine and the true feminine.

  St Paul both mothered and fathered the thessolonians. He could move in both parts of God generously! For, part of renewing our minds is to renew or make more true and whole our image of The Father in both His powerful masculine and gentle receptive feminine. We have broken images of both, from experiences in life. But God is able to mend and heal our spiritual perception so we can know a truer image of who Father is. This is the healing of the imagination. To gain a truer image of who He is, reveals to us more of who we are. We need a clearer image of both his masculine and feminine in order to develop our own.

  To come under His Headship requires us to trust that The Father actually is good, kind, loving etc. If we do not trust His Authority, we cannot even rule ourselves.

Authority has gotten a bad wrap because of abuses. Yet, God is over us, and His Kingdom is a hierarchy—it has a Head, a King; and we need to get used to that.

What parts of our lives are still fearful of coming under His Headship. That area, will become lawless in us, and dangerous to others.

You see the false fathering happening all around us in the many terror and militant groups. But what does true fathering look like, and how can we internalize that Kind Headship over our hearts. So we can know the expansive safety of being under Father God. This crisis in masculinity occurs globally. It is a call to both men and women to mature both their masculinity and femininity—both in submission to Our Father. Then there will be Peace on earth. For we will become ministers or conduits of His Peace.

  God does not have gender ambiguity. He is the perfect version of both the masculine and feminine. He challenges us to grow both parts of ourselves as well. We cannot worship or sit in His Presence without the feminine, and we cannot rule, bring justice, speak truth initiate without the masculine in submission to Him. We need to be in relationship with both parts.

  Good meditation in our days of so much gender confusion, which to me, is really identity confusion based on a misrepresentation of who God is—the way to know ourselves, is to seek to know who God is. as we are in His Image we must grow both our own masculine and feminine parts.

We must be able to care for and govern. To pastor ourselves and discipline ourselves in order to be healthy people. We need to know God in His Father Heart and His mothering aspects.

We are responsible to rule over our lives, and to do so in Love and compassion.

 I think this book offers a needed meditation for our times. Enjoying re-visiting it.

Nice to read a non-Jungian or watered down vedic version of masculinity and femininity. And a needed book for our times.

A simple question this book leaves you with: do i have a true or healthy image of both the masculine and feminine aspects of myself, of the world and of God. Am I moving towards a clearer image?