MEN NEED MIRRORS, NOT MODELS

*You are not reading holy superheroes. You are reading men God refuses to give up on. *

INTRODUCTION — THE LIE OF THE MODERN HERO

The world keeps feeding men impossible models: heroes who never fall, leaders who never doubt, warriors who never break.

But Scripture doesn’t give us models.
It gives us mirrors — men with tempers, flaws, lust, cowardice, pride, fear…
and a God who still calls them, forms them, and refuses to leave them behind.

Sometimes the world tells you to “be a superhero.”
God tells you to be a son.

SECTION 1 — BROKEN MEN, CHOSEN MEN

Jacob:

A terrified brother, not a fearless hero

Jacob bows seven times before Esau.
He limps, he trembles, he angles his family for safety.
He is not a marvel character —
he is a man trying to do right while shaking inside.

And God still calls him Israel.

Moses:

A murderer.
A stutterer.
A runaway.

God still tells him: “I will go with you.”

David:

A king with a heart for God
—and also the man who fell hardest and fastest.

Yet God says: “A man after My own heart.”

Not because he was perfect.
But because he returned.

SECTION 2 — MEN FAIL QUICKLY… AND GOD STAYS

You read Exodus and get sick.
They watched the plagues.
Saw the sea split.
Ate the manna.
Heard the Voice on the mountain.

Three days later:
“Make us a golden calf.”

It feels insane — but that’s the point.
Scripture isn’t trying to show us fools.
It’s trying to show us us.
The human heart wavers fast.
The flesh is weak.
The memory of miracles fades.

And still —
God keeps choosing to speak to men who crumble.

This is why grace exists.

SECTION 3 — WHY MEN TODAY NEED MIRRORS

**Men crack because they think they’re supposed to be steel.

God knows men are dust.**

You don’t need a perfect example.
You need a pattern you can actually inhabit.

Scripture gives:

• Fearful men who obey anyway

• Wounded men who limp toward blessing

• Sinful men who repent hard and rise again

• Cowardly men who become courageous by grace

• Broken fathers who God uses to shape tribes, nations, and salvation history

These are not models.
They are mirrors.

Because God is not asking you to become a superhero.
He is asking you to become His.

SECTION 4 — WHAT THIS MEANS FOR MEN IN THE BATTLE

1. Your weakness isn’t a disqualification.

It’s the place God wants to show His strength.

2. Your past isn’t the ceiling.

Scripture is full of men who outran their past by obedience.

3. Repentance is the real superpower.

Every biblical comeback begins with a man admitting his failure.

4. Courage is born from fear, not the absence of it.

God tells trembling men: “Do not be afraid… I am with you.”

5. Holiness is God walking with you, not you climbing to Him.

Grace is God closing the gap.

SECTION 5 — THE SJW CALL TO MEN

Saint Joseph Workshop exists to form men like the Scriptures describe:

• not flashy

• not perfect

• not loud

• but faithful

• repentant

• willing to stand again after every fall

• willing to listen, protect, provide, and pray

• willing to fight the internal battle first

Mirrors over models.
Grace over strength.
God over ego.

CLOSING CHARGE

You are not meant to imitate superheroes.
You are meant to imitate repentant men who walked with God.

And when you see their weaknesses,
don’t despise them.

Recognize them.

Because those weaknesses —
the very ones you see in yourself —
are the battlefield where God does His greatest work.

This is the path of a Saint Joseph man.
This is the work of the Workshop.