God, The Wrestler

God's wrestling match with Jacob (Genesis 32) has to be one of the greatest stories in the Bible. Of course, I might be a little biased. I was born and raised around the sport of wrestling. My dad was a high school wrestling coach for over 30 years. Now, I find myself coaching the same sport that I competed in for 18 years. I am not talking about the kind of wrestling you see on TBS or Pay Per View. I can proudly admit that I never painted my face, wore a speedo, or hit someone in the back of the head with a folding chair. I AM talking about the sport of wrestling seen in high school and college gyms throughout the country. Amateur wrestling, the greatest and one of the oldest sports on earth. Being familiar with the sport, I have much more of an appreciation for what God did on that fateful night as he wrestled Jacob. The story would have been much less appealing to me if God had appeared to Jacob and challenged him to a game of ping pong. Or much worse, chess. God wanted to see what Jacob was made of. My brother (currently flying helicopters in Iraq and one of the bravest men I know) made a good point in a recent email: "I picture the LORD as the day broke filled with delight, exhausted and thinking, 'Yes, this is why I made man in my image.'" His point has challenged my thinking of God. I think my brother is right. God wants to wrestle with us. It's the same as a father wanting to wrestle with his son. He wants to engage us on that kind of level. He wants us to roll up our sleeves and struggle with Him. At first, the religious side of me was quick to think, "Wrestle with God? No, he would rather have me lay on my face and worship!" Of course he wants us to lay on our face and worship Him. He also wants us to "step into the ring" and grapple with Him. How cool.