Daily Jewel

by Pastor Carnell, McAlester, OK
April 30, 2012

“Wrestling Theology”
“Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say. Keep to a path far from her, do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your best strength to others and your years to one who is cruel…” – Proverbs 5:7-9

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18, NIV)

Solomon has spent the better part of this chapter with this specific appeal—stay away from the seductions of the enemy—lest you have your life drained by those very seductions. It is great advice and the truth is real.
When I was in Junior High and High School I was on the wrestling team. Wrestling is one of those few team sports where what you do as an individual can make or break if the team wins or loses. In Junior High, each “match” was two, two-minute rounds, and in High School, three two-minute rounds—that is unless you or your opponent is pinned at any point during those rounds. And believe me—they are grueling!!
I remember my first match. I had managed to secure a spot in the rotation which meant I would be on the team for one of the upcoming duels against another school. Now, this may seem like a stretch, but I was wrestling at 95 pounds, (this was Junior High, remember?) but to get to that weight I had to lose close to ten pounds. It had taken me two weeks of both dieting and exercise but I had made it. The day before the match I had weighed in at 95, which meant I would be competing the next night. I was excited to say the least. What I did not realize was how drained I had become from the dieting and exercise. Halfway into the first round my mouth felt like it was filled with cotton and my strength was zapped to the point where I could barely raise my arms. Although I was behind by two points, I managed to get through the first round without being pinned. After a quick drink I renewed my strength and ended up pinning my opponent mid-way through the second round and won my first match.
When you wrestle—it is you against your opponent. Your coach, family, teammates, and fans can cheer you on, but in the end your success comes down to your skills, strength, and your ability to think and react when your opponent makes his moves. By the time you have finished practically every muscle in your body aches because you are using all of them to defeat your opponent. If that person is better conditioned, faster and stronger, the match may not last very long.
The Apostle Paul reminds us (in the passage above) that we “wrestle not” against a common opponent but against one who is much stronger and more cunning—one who wants to drain every ounce of spiritual strength within us and once he does we are made “slaves” to sin (Romans 6:13) and what strength we have left is given over to him. By the way, wrestling (real wrestling I might add!) is a team sport! If you do not win your match the team does not get any points. In the Christian life—the Church is our team. We work together to make each other strong. We understand that we are ultimately responsible for our actions and relationship, we work to make each other strong!
As Solomon says—give your best strength to Christ and for one another. That is how we “win” for the Kingdom!
Pastor J. T. Carnell.