Wrestling Match
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
My grandfather died when I was quite young.
Several years later, before such things as online dating, my grandmother answered a lonely hearts advertisement in the back of the newspaper. This lonely Kansas woman started corresponding with a man in Vancouver, Washington. They met a couple of times. Eventually, he popped the question, and they were married. She moved to Vancouver, and I had a new grandfather. Since we were so far away, we didn’t get to see them very often, so it was difficult to get to know this new grandfather.
During one particular visit, I remember my young self trying to become better acquainted with him.
He liked to watch TV, and we were raised without a TV, so I must admit I was fascinated by the different shows on television. He really liked to watch wrestling. I found myself sitting with him and watching a lot of wrestling.
This was not Olympic wrestling or even high school wrestling. It was—even to my untrained eye—just an act. It was totally fake. So, I said something to this new grandfather. They are just putting on a show. He, however, was convinced it was real, and they really were fighting a real match. I remained convinced it was fake and to this day know it was. He remained just as convinced it was real.
There is a real wrestling match that is taking place.
It is a deadly one as well. Ephesians 6:12 states that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of darkness. This is a match for access to your mind and to gain your allegiance. It may not even seem like a wrestling match at times. It may not feel like much of a struggle is going on. Other times you may be very aware of it. Either way, it is very real.
The rest of Ephesians 6 tells us the best way to wrestle in this very real match: put on the entire armor of God.
Not just part of the armor. The entire armor. The great thing is that each part of God’s armor is provided by God Himself. Each part is important. Stay in the truth. Stay in the Bible. Stay in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Most of all, stay covered by the salvation of Jesus provided as a gift to all.
This match is real, yet the victory is already decided. Let’s all accept this assurance of victory as we walk each day with Jesus.