I've never wrestled anyone but one of my brothers while we were growing up. I've been to the wrestling pro shows. Still, I came away with a sense that it wasn't real for the most part. It's difficult to take seriously wrestlers who have SAG cards (Screen Actors Guild). Wrestling with my brother as kids was more believable. We usually wrestled after a meal on the kitchen floor. Neither of us really won everything. Wrestling was more of an intimacy of sorts. Christian wrestling is another story completely. The Bible tells us that "we wrestle not against flesh and blood but rather the powers, principalities and powers of the air". Who are they? What powers exist with which we wrestle? We wrestle for our soul. Satan would love to have our soul and Christ wants to preserve our soul. One if focused on an eternity in hell and the other is focused on an eternity in heaven. With this battle going on for your and my soul, it's no wonder that we seek a champion to fight for us. Christians fall into categories where they either have Jesus fighting for them or the enemy, Satan, fighting to keep us from Jesus. Where we are in our Christian life determines who is doing what in and through our lives. You may not believe there is a battle for your soul unless you read and believe the Bible.
Reading the Bible is a wonderful venue for wrestling. Reading gives us the power of God to live our lives. When we read the Bible we find that even Jesus quoted Scripture to Satan when he was being tempted. Spiritual wrestling doesn't usually involve rolling on the floor trying to physically overcome someone else. Spiritual wrestling is part and parcel of Christians who have an active and positive Christian life. Some of the wrestling is on a major front like opposing abortion. It's killing babies and no Christian should be ambivalent about this fight. Some wrestling is minor but no less important. For instance we have choices to make regarding Halloween. We either recognize that day for what it is (celebration of Satan and his demons) and oppose everything that has to do with the spiritual wresting going on or we spend our time engaging this as a "harmless time of trick or treating for little kids". There is no in between. You either stand for Jesus or you stand against Jesus. Your thoughts, words and actions are the evidence of the spiritual wrestling you either do or don't do in your daily life.
There is the old joke where you go to a fight match and a hockey game breaks out. It's funny but it's also a great metaphor for our lives. When we see the fight we see disorganized wrestling with little or no focus. In the hockey game there are rules to be abided by in order for it to not turn into a wrestling match. I've watched quite a number of sports where this active aggression and determination to win takes over the focus of the person. So, why don't Christians order and participation in the Christian life so that wrestling matches don't break out? Because disbelief and apathy are an inherent part of the Christian's life. Only the strong and the brave will fight the fight and win the race (match). Paul is quite the example of doing just that. He brought his wrestling everywhere he went. Sometimes this caused him to be stoned and other times his words, thoughts and actions brought about riots with non-believers. God, in the man Jesus, came to earth, fought the good fight to his death, rose from the dead with the only thought of saving those who were losing the fight and perishing. It's a difficult task if we try to do it on our own. But with the power of God living through us the task isn't ours but rather God's as it is Christ who is living through us. It's all about choice and it's always your choice.
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