We Wrestle
MC Midweek Jan. 11, 2023
by Pat N., Life Group leader
Like many of you, I’ve been a sports fan most of my life: watched my sisters play softball, walked the golf course with my dad and learned the etiquette of that sport. I learned the basics of bowling and tennis, competed in swim meets, cheered for Little League, high school, and professional football teams. The one sport that truly fascinated and frightened me, though, was high school wrestling.
Through the days and weeks of training I watched my son wrap himself in garbage bags and run up and down the steps at home, running until sweat rolled off him like rain. The wrestlers had to “make weight” to compete in their weight class: self-discipline and commitment were mandatory.
Sitting on wooden bleachers in the high school gym and chatting with other parents, I didn’t understand I was about to watch another skinny kid try to kill my skinny son. Seriously! Arms and legs wrapped around waists and chests, shouts at a takedown, referee on the floor to see if there was a pin, bodies upside down and twisted like pretzels, and then….watching the excruciating battle of the bridge. Ask Mitch—-I’m sure he can explain it better than I—-but I saw quivering muscles straining to hold position and my son’s face turning fiery red with effort…it was agony to watch. Afterward, the coach commended the team and sent them off to Waffle House to celebrate.
I was told that the few minutes involved in a wrestling match were the most strenuous and taxing of any sport, and the only way a “bridge” can be broken is for the wrestler to give up. True or not, I’ve seen the effort the battle requires. The “spectators” in the heavenly stands…those Christians who came before us…are cheering us on to victory.
In Christ, we too are more than conquerors. Never give up: Go, Fight, Win!
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Hebrews 12: 1-2
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.
