My worst nightmare in junior high? Wrestling class.
Some of you can relate, I’m sure… The gym teacher most certainly had surveyed the crowd and set you up for failure by pairing you up with a guy whose middle name is “Crusher” and against whom you have no hope to beat. But before the carnage unfold, you learn the moves; the take-downs, the escapes, and of course the pins. Your only hope was that you might survive, hold out, squirm, and run, until salvation arrived in the form of a rolled-up towel tossed into the Frey, mercifully signaling the end of the round, and then eventually, the end of the match.
I thought about that as I finished the first chapter of a classic book I’m reading, Through the Gates of Splendor, by Elisabeth Elliot. It is the first-hand, very honest account of the life of Jim Elliot, one-half of the missionary team that joined four other couples to unlock the Auca Indian tribe in Equador to the Gospel.
Mrs. Elliot, in describing the earliest years of her husband’s preparation, paused to reflect upon Jim’s involvement in wrestling and what she said caught my eye. In a letter home to his mother, Jim said,
“That he wrestled, solely for the strength and coordination of muscle tone that the body receives while working out, with the ultimate end that of presenting a more useful body as a living sacrifice. (Elliot, Splendor, page 4)
So I wondered, what do I wrestle with and how might that be perfecting that living sacrifice in me? Excluding the obvious wrestling that Paul describes well in Ephesians 6, a number of specifics came to mind.
We wrestle with our own sin. Though redeemed from the eternal death sentence brought about by our own depravity, we nevertheless wrestle with the nagging sins, the always present failures, and the troublesome immaturity that plagues our daily sojourn. Yet we can rejoice because we have the new life of Christ pulsating through our veins.
We wrestle with the negativity and discouragement associated with our circumstances; challenging events, hurtful people, and ultimately setbacks. And yet, we realize that our God is sovereign and as a friend reminded me just this week, ” God must be sovereign over my life and death.” No small matter for him as he struggles with the cancer that is robbing his daughter of life.
And we wrestle with our fears; fears of inadequacy, fears for our future plans, and fear of failure. But even in this situation, we can rejoice, because we know that if Good is for us, then, who can be against us!
In the end, the answer was carved into the life of Jim Elliott, way-back-when in 1947, when he wrote,
Even though [God] chose to allow the [body] to be strained, the motive was for his glory and the faith He honors. Simplicity of heart and freedom from anxiety He expects of us, and gives us grace to have them both.
So, while the wrestling match goes on, I think I just heard the “towel” hit the mat… Just in time to catch my breath… Thanks Jim! The dead yet speak.
MJC
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