"For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, New King James Version).
Our son Christopher started wrestling last week. It's a new experience for all of us.
So far, we are learning two major lessons.
First, wrestling takes preparation. It takes conditioning. Christopher has never worked so hard physically. He is getting in shape and learning the rules. Every day, he walks away better prepared to face an opponent.
Second, passive wrestlers do not win. Christopher is beginning to learn that he needs to be assertive to win. When taken down, he needs to fight to get back up. He cannot relax and expect to defeat an opponent.
In many ways, successful Christian living mimics successful wrestling.
Christians need preparation. We need to study the Bible and pray. We need coaching from those who have experience. We need to know the rules of the game of life. If we are disciplined and motivated, we are better prepared to face the enemy.
We also need to be assertive. We cannot win battles by being passive. When taken down, we need to fight to get back up. We fight with the weapons and Spirit of God; but in order to win, we must fight. We cannot surrender and expect to defeat our opponent.
Let's approach life prepared to take on the challenges!
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8 comments:
Interesting take on things. I like it when we can use everyday situations to help us in our spiritual walk. So, do you cringe when Christopher is on the bottom and struggling to get back up? It'd be all I could do not to go out on the mat and scream, "Get off of my son!" Good thing mine isn't into wrestling. ;0)
You attend at Contact?!
I used to spend my college summers up there as an intern.
How is everything going at Contact these days?
My email is amandalyn08@gmail.com if you want to send me any updates. I would really appreciate it!
Christy,
It's funny you should ask. Last night, I worked too late to take Christopher to practice, so Janet took him instead. She told me it was all she could do to keep from getting in there with them and taking the boy off of Christopher herself! Of course, I "coach" a little from the sidelines, telling Christoper that he does not need to lay there; he needs to struggle to get on top. Parents are not supposed to "coach" because it gives an "unfair" advantage to the kids whose parents care enough to stay for practice, but I can't help it sometimes. The truth is: parents with involved parents are going to have advantages in life anyway, as I see it. I can't help caring;). Thanks for the comment!
Amanda,
Since I have the day off from work for Veteran's Day, I will try to e-mail you later. I need to get Christopher to school now, though. Are you the intern who went to Russia as a missionary a few years ago? I apologize that I sometimes forget the names of those who serve with us, but I would probably remember your face. By the way, Bob and Sarah Logsdon's blog is in my blog roll if you would like to see some more info about Contact church. Thanks for the comment!
see my blog on CONFUSED NOISE -ISAIAH 9:5--ANYWAY WHAT GETS ME THRU THE MOST DIFFICULT OF TIMES IS THE COUPLING OF THESE SCRIPTURES:
ROM-7:23"no man that warreth entangle with affairs of this life"
often times our choices HAVE TO BE a)b)c)and WE CREATED choice d)
EPH 6:13-"putting on the whole armor-WITHSTANDING-"relating to what u said of putting up the fight
PHIL-4:13 "ALL THINGS thru CHRIST which STRENGTHENS me"
IF i ever felt picked on in life PET 4:12 "thinking it NOT STRANGE the fiery trials that try me"
you write of wrestling and it brings to mind the wrestling twins in the womb and the tieing of the ribbon remember that one?
I definately know that feeling of warring against the laws of my mind which PAUL-ROMANS 7:23 spoke of with alot of things in life -battles- sports-the mind set is the make it or break it and with spirituality and being prepared we are told and are learning to prepare for something "not in this world"so STRENGTH is never a physical determining factor- as much as our heart -as the story of david and goliath??
i enjoy reading your blogs im new to it and if you have suggestions i would appreciate any input ----i know my punctuation and form is still in the rough but the time i have and the way it comes out of me its fun and thats what counts i like what the one guy wrote of BRAINSTORMING--it gives the sense of niether here nor there right or wrong just hearts on here sharing and out of 1million sentences if a few words added to you then thats what counts as well take care ---
Hiya Amanda :)
Terry - check this out: http://theresurgence.com/blog/660
You're not the only one drawing parallels between physical battle and spirituality.
And yes, Amanda is the missionary who went to Russia for a few years.
Ronnie,
Thanks for the comment! I enjoyed reading the story of your conversion to Christ on Jackie Chesnutt's blog. You have the right attitude about blogging. Just have fun, and if it helps someone, that's even more fun!
Wes,
Thanks for the link to the Resurgence blog. Also, thanks for verifying Amanda's identity. I thought I was right, but it has been a few years. Also, sometimes I forget our interns' real names since Ron Babbit gives everyone a nickname that sticks better than real names most of the time:). I appreciate your comments on my blog!
One thing you have to learn early...if you figure out you are wrestling with God go ahead and give up early.
Good point, Matt. Thanks for the comment!
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