Bridger Walker, a six-year-old Wyoming boy, was the subject of that story. This little warrior knows better than many males my age what masculinity means. According to an Instagram post published by his aunt, Bridger leapt in front of a charging dog to save his 4-year-old sister….When his father asked him why he threw himself between the dog and his sister, Bridger reportedly answered, “If someone had to die, I thought it should be me.”

On my drive home from a men’s Bible study on Tuesday night, my five-year-old son Elijah (who always accompanies me to give his mom a break) announced, “I just love fighting. I love swords. I like to kill the bad guys.” His declaration followed weeks of donning whatever makeshift armor lay close at hand and taking up weapons ranging from brooms to vacuum cleaner parts (His trusty shield is always filched from among our kitchen pot lids).

Many parents, confronted with such a warlike whelp, might try to pacify him. Our society has progressed beyond the days when boys’ toy aisles stocked cap guns and claymores. Heck, we’ve progressed beyond the days of boys’ toy aisles. But a story I’d seen earlier that day prompted me not only to affirm my son’s martial spirit, but to charge him to keep his broom sharp.

Bridger Walker, a six-year-old Wyoming boy, was the subject of that story. This little warrior knows better than many males my age what masculinity means. According to an Instagram post published by his aunt, Bridger leapt in front of a charging dog to save his 4-year-old sister.

The photographs of the aftermath are difficult to stomach. CNN reports that Bridger underwent a two-hour surgery that required more than ninety stiches to restore the left side of his face. His sister was unharmed. The picture of the two together afterward brought me to tears. I can only imagine the sort of relationship they will have for the rest of their lives.

When his father asked him why he threw himself between the dog and his sister, Bridger reportedly answered, “If someone had to die, I thought it should be me.”

Recounting this story on the ride home, I told my son that God gave him his fighting instincts for a purpose. I told him that he was made for battle—that his strong arms, keen eye, and stout heart were crafted by God to beat back evil and defend the weak. I told him that we need men (and boys) trained for combat in a world full of vicious dogs – literal and figurative. I reminded him of what Peter did in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” when Jadis’ lupine captain came snarling after the Pevensie sisters (we read that last year). I told him that his Exemplar and mine is both Prince of Peace and Man of War who died to save His Bride.

Read More