Wrestling Life

I was really unsure what to write about this week until just a few minutes ago. I just finished watching the movie "The Wrestler" starring Micky Rourke. The movie tells the story of a former professional wrestler from the 1980's who 30 years after his prime (modern day) is still performing in small venues feeding off the fame from his glory days and trying to make his way back to the top. Since the specifics of the plot are not necessary to this blog post I'll keep from going into it much more.

At the end of the movie I was left with a question, "what do you devote your life to?" In the movie, Micky Rourke's character has devoted his whole life to wrestling and when the question comes up of his retirement he is at a total loss for what to do with himself. Now, I'm not going to say that wrestling is a poor choice of occupation, entertainment, or past time; the minute I do someone else will point out that Star Wars and Lord of the Rings are equally pointless and I just can't take that; but at the same time I feel like there should be something greater to attach yourself to than beating another guy to a pulp for money (or a good light saber battle). To put it bluntly, imagine putting that amount of energy and effort into God's service, to devote yourself so fully to the cause of Christ that if someone were to try and tell you that you could no longer do it you would not know what to do, or you would just do it anyway. I believe that is a truly noble way to spend a life.

Click here to view a trailer of "The Wrestler." Note; it's a nice trailer that will give a clear idea of what the movie is with out telling the whole story.

Assurance That Comes After Faith

Exodus 3:12 "And God said 'I will be with you. And this will be a sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain."

This verse is from Moses' conversation with God at the burning bush. God appeared to Moses and told him to return to Egypt and speak to Pharaoh demanding the Israelites be let go. Moses' faith faltered at this request and he asked in verse 11, "Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh...?" Verse 12 above show's God's response.

When I was reading this chapter recently something strange struck me, the sign that God gives by which Moses can know that it really is God who has called him to this and not just a dream, brought on by delusions of grandeur, is to come AFTER all the work has been done! It seems like if I were Moses I would have wanted to say "Wait, no, can't you give me a sign on the way? You know like I'll see a mountain shaped like a bunny on the road to Egypt. That would be impressive and then I can walk on with confidence."

To put this another way, it's as like when you're going a place you've never been before and the person giving you directions gives you landmarks to watch for, the really big tree, the railroad tracks, the Bates Motel, and so on. These landmarks are given so that you can rest assured of your course along the way. However, the direction God gave Moses was more like your friend saying, "well you'll know you did everything right when you get here."

Now to be fair, God did give some pretty amazing signs to Moses there at the bush, including the bush itself that was "on fire" but "did not burn up" {vs 2}, but the bush was meant to get Moses' attention, the staff turning into a snake { chapter 4 verse 3} was a sign for Pharaoh and the Israelite elders, the one sign meant specifically for Moses was that he would eventually return and worship on the same mountain he stood on.

As I have reflected on this sign I think the thing to realize is that God was asking Moses to demonstrate his faith with out a sign. It was to be an exercise for Moses' soul. God's assurance that everything was right would come after Moses had completed the task by pure faith. Really, if you look at it by the time Moses and the Israelites returned to the mountain they had seen the 12 plagues of Egypt and the parting of the Red Sea, so when they returned to the mountain and God appeared in a terrifying cloud Moses' faith was strong enough he no longer needed a sign he simply heeded God's calling to the top of the mountain to receive the law, the Ten Commandments.

Considering my own life this idea that God may not provide a sign until after you have walked the path is both discouraging and encouraging. I feel like for the past couple years I have been trying earnestly to seek God's will and direction for my life, I've been looking for a sign that says "turn here" or "go there." For the most part I don't feel like he's shown that sign so I keep driving wondering if I'm on the right track. What I'm learning from Moses is that it might be after I've turned that I get a confirmation of weather I'm on the right road or not. While this is frustrating it could also be liberating in that if I decide I want to try a path, that may be confirmation enough to move forward with it. I guess if God does not want me on a road I can also trust him to make that clear.