Dear Trekker,

As we reflect back on 2006, as men we all have desired to be ‘men of integrity’. But if the truth were fully known, no doubt we all have fallen short. Integrity is such a deep, probing, comprehensive concept and value. In our heart of hearts, we want to possess it ‐ or better still, have ‘it’ possess us!

For some time I’ve had posted on my writing desk a picture of the Holy‐Spirit‐arranged father of the baby Jesus, Joseph, holding the new born baby cradled in his arms. Mary is asleep, lying alongside the manger. I ‘posted it’ because I have seen few pictures (if any) of Joseph holding the Baby. Joseph is very much a part of this divine drama which became the linchpin of all history ‐ past, present and future.

We really know very little about the actual facts of the Incarnation, for the gospel accounts are quite sparse. And we know even less about Joseph. But one thing stands out ‐ Matthew describes him as a righteous man. What is a righteous man? We know from our enlightened theology 2000 years later that he who is righteous is also a sinner. How can a sinner be declared a righteous man? “Only in Christ is one declared righteous”, according to the Scriptures. Frankly, I don’t think Matthew had such insight or was speaking theologically when he wrote ‘Joseph was a righteous man’.

I believe Joseph was declared righteous by Matthew because he revealed the manly characteristic all men desire ‐ integrity! What does it mean to be a man? What did God have in mind when He created Adam? He certainly wanted fellowship with him, and equipped him to subdue and rule over creation. When Eve came along he stated, “be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.” Ever since men of integrity have recognized that they are on a cosmic mission, their duty to fulfill.

For many of us, the need for integrity in our manliness kicks in quite abruptly whenever life does not unfold according to plan. Mary and Joseph were engaged, and yet were living their lives in relationship without the intimate ingredient of sexual intercourse. Imagine the tension when Mary returns from the sojourn with Elizabeth and announces, “I’m pregnant.” At that time, Joseph’s integrity kicks in, or kicks out. Knowing he was not the father, Joseph could easily have said, “The child isn’t mine, Mary! Sorry, but all bets for marriage are off.” And though the Gospel writer hints this, Joseph believed Mary, he believed her story, and he willingly chose to believe in the work of God. When we willingly enter the Divine drama, accept our role in His plan and live that out wholistically, with honor and fidelity, without rancor for whatever comes down our life path, we are known as men of integrity. We are honest, fair, reliable, trusting, and incorruptible men of inner strength and fortitude. The rod of integrity becomes the steel of our life.

I believe as we close this year, and look forward to 2007, the wanting world needs men of integrity. John Wesley said it well: “Give me 100 men who fear nothing but God, who hate nothing but sin, and who know nothing but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and I will shake the world.” I believe God has similar thoughts. “For the eyes of the Lord roam throughout the earth to find and strengthen MEN whose hearts are fully submitted to Him.” II Chronicles 16:9

Integrity ‐ a simple definition? I told my sons when they were little guys, “You will be a man when you do what is right because it is right when Dad is not around to tell you what to do, and nobody sees what you do except your heavenly Father.” A plaque hung in their bedroom ‐ ‘don’t wait to be a great man, be a great boy’.

Integrity is forged when young. For many of us, it matured rapidly on the battlefield. It is not a flash in the pan activity; it is a pattern of consistent living, inward and outward, according to our deepest call to honor. (One year ago this month we wrote on doing what is right, for the right reason, at the right time, in the right way ‐ this is the essence of manliness.) Today, as throughout history, men of integrity often are men set apart from the masses. Trekker, integrity is always the steeper road, with the reward at the top of the mountain!

There is another clipping on my desk which I’ve retained for years. I do not know who penned the words, but they speak of integrity and are priceless: The world is looking for MEN.

• MEN who cannot be bought because they are not for sale.
• MEN who are honest, solid from center to circumference.
• MEN who are true to the heart’s core.
• MEN whose consciences are steady as a needle to the pole
• MEN who will stand for right even if heaven totters and the earth reels.
• MEN who can and will tell the truth and look the world right in the eye.
• MEN who neither brag nor run, fly nor flinch, neither lie, shirk, nor dodge.
• MEN who have courage without shouting it, in whom the courage of everlasting life runs deep and strong.
• MEN who know their message and live and tell it; who know their place and fill it, who know their business and attend to it.
• MEN who are not too lazy to work, nor too proud to be poor.
• MEN who are willing to eat what only they have earned, wear what they have paid for; who are not ashamed to say ‘no’ with emphasis, and who are not ashamed to say ‘I can’t afford it’.

Trekkers, may we all be such men of honor, conviction, and character. Our world will be a better place if we are, just as it was in the day Joseph became a man!

Looking forward to the trek in 2007,

Jim Meredith