There is a great man who makes every man feel small. But the real great man is the man who makes every man feel great.

After years of hearing the heart-cry of women, I am convinced beyond a doubt of this: God wants to be loved. He wants to be a priority to someone. How could we have missed this? From cover to cover, from beginning to end, the cry of God’s heart is, “Why won’t you chose me?” It is amazing to me how humble, how vulnerable God is on this point. “You will find me,” says the Lord, “when you seek me with your whole heart” (Jer. 29:13). In other words, “Look for me, pursue me–I want you to pursue me.” Amazing. As Tozer says, “God waits to be wanted.”

from the book “Wild at Heart”
by John Eldredge

I found this quote really interesting. I think too often, people view God as this impersonal, distant and powerful being who toys with the lives of men like His own little Barbies and G.I. Joes. As someone who is too important/busy/uncaring/what have you, to listen to or care about our needs or desires.

But He really just wants to be loved by us. Could you imagine having children and loving them so very deeply but they decide to denounce you as their parent and leave and never speak to you again. Can you just imagine the heart ache? Now multiply that by a God whose love is infinitely more pure and deep and perfect than our own. Do you ever imagine God crying? I think He cries over those He loves but who hate Him. He longs to be their Father, friend, helper, lover, anything and everything good and pure and perfect.

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On to a new topic. Great guys. Do you know any? How often do you hear females talk about a new boyfriend, crush, etc who is a “great guy”? What is a great guy? I found out last night that my 19 year old friend, who I roomed with for a while in college, is pregnant. I still find it hard to wrap my head around it. But anyway, when I asked her about the father, she told me “he’s a great guy”. And I thought to myself (because it’s hard for me to think to others) what is a great guy?

A great guy, in my opinion, is not a guy who sleeps with a girl he met recently. Now, I’m sure I’ll get flack for this post, but hear me out. So many girls and women in our society deal with so many issues that make them vulnerable, longing for love and affection, confused about what intimacy and and love are, and so forth. Now, don’t get me wrong, guy go through a lot of their own personal issues, some of the same or similar issues as females, but they have their own dynamic. Despite all the “there’s no difference between men and women” crap, that’s all it is: crap.

So now that I’ve gone off on that tangent, take a girl who is beautiful, intelligent, warm and caring, funny and fun to be with, and so much more, and give her some insecurities, some issues from her past, some vulnerability, and a longing to be truly loved. Now take a guy. But not just any guy. A great guy. A great guy doesn’t sleep with her. He sees that she has things she needs to work through. He gives her love and affection that doesn’t involve intercourse. He supports her, he adores her, he makes her feel special, he shows that she’s special and worthy of love. Not the cheap love that is sold on the streets, the true pure and passionate love that was given to us as a model of God’s own love.

But maybe it’s all semantics. Maybe the problem is with the word guy. Maybe I need we need to differentiate between great guys and great men. A guy is is younger, mentally and maturity-wise. He may have great ideals, but he doesn’t have the same world views, the same understanding of love and relationships. In essence, there is little comparison. Perhaps when referring to a love interest, one should specify if he is a great guy or a great man. Unfortunately, I don’t think that many girls or women know the difference. At least not right away. Maybe never in time to save herself so much heartache.

Do you know any great men?