Back to Dr. Derkins’ class, Bio 101. I walked into the lecture hall, once again, but it was easier to find my seat this time. Megan was not there yet, but I found the spot where I sat before and took my seat; just like on a Sunday morning the devoted church-goers find their familiar seats that they have assigned to themselves. Megan arrived and, of course, found her spot beside me again. This is one of those strange phenomena that happens in the context of any group of people that must meet somewhere on a regular basis. Why? It probably has something to do with security, familiarity, and just general comfort. It was later in the day, so we had both completed our two-a-days and were both sore and worn out.
“Hi Megan,” I said.No response.
“You doing okay?” I probed.
“Not right now please.” She replied.
This may have seemed scathing to a degree, but she did choose to sit next to me and at least she said “please.” I was starting to understand that this Megan girl was a tough cookie. I started looking over my notes.
“I’m sorry,” Megan interrupted, “It’s just that…“ She paused and looked uncomfortable.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to explain.”
Class started. Derkins turned on his power point and at the top of the screen it read, “Can there be a God who is good?” “Welcome to class. I feel as though it is important to continue from where we left off last time. And I must ask the question, ‘Can there really be a God who is good?’ If you must know, I was brought up inside of the church. I was Lutheran. I had to learn all of the catechisms and all of the rituals that come along with being Lutheran. I believed that God was good. But then something happened to me that would make me question that belief. “My parents were both killed in an automobile accident when I was 16 years old. I became angry with God. How could he let this happen to my parents? They were good people. They always attended church. They loved him. And then, out of nowhere, a drunk driver ran a stoplight and extinguished their lives in an instant. Where was God? “You might think that I am merely attacking your religion at this point; but I am really promoting science. There is an old saying, ‘red in tooth and claw’ that describes the natural world. Charles Darwin stated that the struggle for life is one of the most obvious observances you will ever make and nobody can deny that fact. If the lion must eat the gazelle to live and the gazelle escape the lion, whose side is this beneficent God on? “The process of evolution can be perceived as cruel. But it is actually a very beneficent force. Those who are not fit to survive are extinguished so that they do not have to suffer throughout life. Those who are fit are allowed to survive to enjoy the bounty that they have reaped, in whatever form that may take. “A long time ago, this bounty was merely survival. The first and simplest organisms had to bind together and fight to survive the ravages of the environment. As plant life emerged organisms had to evolve sophisticated mechanisms so that they could harvest the energy of the sun and propagate in all new ways that would allow their species to thrive. As plants evolved, they started to compete. Just look at the trees. Plants fought for the sun’s rays and the larger ones were more survivable than the smaller ones because they were able to horde more of the sun’s light for themselves while blocking the sun’s light from their competitors. So you can even see the survival of the fittest in the plant world. Does such competition arise from a God who wants everyone and everything to go forth and multiply? His creations would be fighting against one another to prevent them from multiplying! “The unfortunate part of this whole evolutionary process is that mankind came along and developed a thing called compassion. There are people today who would not survive in a world governed by the rules of natural selection. They would not know how to survive, let alone be able to fend for themselves. Well-meaning people come alongside these people and enable them to propagate. What compassion does is promote the weak attributes of the species and set back human evolution. “Unfortunately, there are lawmakers in Washington that espouse the fundamentalist views that all life, even before it is life, should have the same rights as those who can fend for themselves. I am not saying that anything should be done to people who are not fit to survive, but maybe we should not enable them to the extent that our culture has. This only happens because of certain religious beliefs that undermine science. They do not understand that we, as scientists, are able to accomplish much more for the human race when it is not hindered by their religious nonsense, and it accomplishes much more than their faith is able to for the sake of the dregs of society.” I did not know that there were such things as churches for atheists. Today I was convinced that there were. I sat in my pew and listened to the message as our minister gave us the bad news. The sad thing, I realized, was that Derkins sincerely believed what he was preaching. Not only was that disturbing, but he was actually making sense. If God created a world where death and suffering take place, could God possibly be good like the Bible says he is? I chose to stand firm because I just knew, for whatever reason, that the Bible holds the answers to these questions that he was posing. Dr. Derkins said a mouthful today. Despite his cohesive message, Ryan chose to trust God nonetheless. Does he have a reason to trust God, or is he merely choosing blind faith? Next time we join Ryan, he is going to be alone, by himself, in his room engaging the wisest teacher of all, God. And he is going to do so through prayer and by reading his Bible. Do not miss the next chapter as God has an honest discussion with Ryan.
Commonly pointed to as evidence for an old earth is radiometric dating – the idea of using the rates at which a radioactive substance slowly decays into another, like uranium turning into lead. Radiometric dating is heaped in assumptions and many unknown components, and it has recently been found completely unreliable. There are three major assumptions when we consider radiometric dating.
These assumptions are: the decay rate has always been the same, the starting amounts of each substance were known, and the system remained undisturbed during the entire time. We cannot know the last two at all unless we can travel back in time and see for ourselves. The first assumption has been clearly shown to be false. Decay rates of radioactive substances can easily be influenced by a variety of things. There is also the not-often-publicized fact that dating methods used on the same rocks frequently give enormously different results, many times in the tens of millions of years.
Oftentimes, the dates that fit with the theory of evolution are considered accurate and the others are thrown out. There is also the fact that no artifact of known age has accurately been dated with any method, leading one to wonder why there is no effort to calibrate these methods. There is literally no reason to believe the earth is billions of years old unless your theory requires it to be this old.
This blog begins our 4week series on the topic “What is Marriage?” We will be looking at different aspects of marriage over the next four weeks, starting with this week’s discussion of marriage through the relationship between God and the Church.
This relationship is best explained in Ephesians 5:21-33. But, that text is talking about Christ and the Church; didn’t I just say we’re talking about the relationship between God and the Church? Simply put, Jesus Christ is God, so discussing Christ and the Church is the same as discussing God and the Church.
But what (or should I say, who) is the church? Read this post or this post to find out more on that. Essentially, the Church is all people, in all times and all places, who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. While the Church as a whole doesn’t have a gender per se, it is referred to using a feminine noun in the Greek (ekklesia) and with feminine pronouns.
Now that we know who we’re talking about Jesus Christ and all who believe in Him what does this relationship look like? Go read Ephesians 5:21-33 again. Notice these key phrases: “the church submits to Christ” (v24), “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (v25), and “no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church—for we are members of his body” (v29-30). Jesus Christ loves the Church unconditionally, so much so that He gave up His life for her. There is no greater love than giving up one’s life for another, and Christ demonstrated that in the most perfect way for His love, the Church.
In response to Christ’s unconditional love and sacrifice, the Church submits to His authority. Jesus Christ is God, and because He created us, loves us, and saves us, if we believe in Him as our Lord and Savior, we should consider Him as authority over our lives. Because of Christ’s great love for the Church, the Church wants to return that love by honoring Christ.
But what does this have to do with marriage? In an ideal world, a marriage relationship would have that same loving relationship of Christ and the Church. All believers should strive to be like Christ, but especially a husband in the way he loves his wife. As the passage says, “husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies” (v28). A husband takes care of his body, and so he should take care of his wife as well as he does himself. In return, the wife should honor and respect her husband and consider him an authority in her life, just as the Church considers Christ. Christ and His Church have a special, intimate relationship, just as a husband and wife should.
If you are married, does your marriage look like that? My guess would be probably not at least not 100% of the time. Christ is perfect; no husband (or wife) is perfect. We are all sinful human beings living in a sinful world, not in an ideal and perfect one. This unconditionally loving relationship between Christ and the Church is a goal for us to strive toward, whether married or not.
The third definition of “sexy,” according to the dictionary, is “attractive because of being interesting or trendy.” While Jesus is not “trendy” per se, He never failed to attract a crowd, because He knew how to engage the trends with a vibrant and transforming application of Truth. The Church is made up of those who claim to follow Christ, and as followers, we are supposed to reflect Jesus to the world. Which means we should be able to engage trends the same way, attracting crowds, infusing Truth into the culture with intentional actions (not just words), targeting the broken places of our culture, and creating space for Jesus to transform lives.
Mobile apps, are about...well, mobilization! Taking essential tools (and even useless tools), and making them easy to take anywhere and have available anytime. Is this the way we live as followers of Christ? Is God’s Word so embedded in us, and His mission so ingrained in us that we passionately seek out and develop new tools, new relationships, and new networks of partnership within the cities/towns we live in? Are we mobilized like Jesus calls us to be?
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30 - "Come to me all who are weary and heavy-laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
This passage is not about rest for those who are physically tired, though the Bible teaches that God does refresh those who are physically weary. This passage is in the heart of a statement Jesus is making about coming to Him to know the Father, to know the fullness of God. So if it is not about rest, what is it about?
A "yoke" in farming is a piece of equipment that holds a team of animals together and connects them to the one driving them in order to plow the field or haul a heavy load. A heavy yoke makes it hard on the animals to get the job done. In Jewish teaching, pictures convey ideas or are symbolic of another meaning, like icons on your mobile phone. A "yoke" to a Jew means a method of interpreting and living out the commandments of God. The understanding is we should be equipping ourselves with the Word of God so He can lead and be seen in every decision we make. Some teachers interpret the commands of God in a "heavy" way, and put a lot of emphasis on shame, guilt or complicated methods for living God's way. Jesus is making the point that His teaching, His living, and commands for living God's way are not weighed down by flawed human tradition, preferences, or perception. Jesus’ “yoke” for living God's way is meant to MOBILIZE!
Jesus cut through the thick and confusing system of laws the religious leaders had created around the Word of God, and he went straight to the heart of the issues for healing and mobilization. He didn't indoctrinate or brainwash them into a denomination, have them commit to a weekly service, make them tithe as "members," etc. Instead Jesus focused on the command of God as it applied to that person for their healing. He was helping to mobilize them for the healing of others, and challenged them to give everything to God – to let Him lead.
When you look in the mirror, or when you look at your local church – are you mobilizing people? Or hurting them?
Is the teaching you are absorbing or the things you are reading mobilizing you toward a deeply transformed, revived, and renewed position?
If not, then something is out of sync with Jesus’ mission. Time to get back to basics with Him and let Him do His work in and through you.
“Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage, do not be afraid neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.” ~Joshua 1:9 NKJV
One of the biggest challenges many professing Christians in America face is the realization that we are at war. In America, we are not challenged like the Christians in the Middle East, or China, or Vietnam, or North Korea. And when we are, we tend to blow it off. We don’t realize that we have an enemy out there whose sole purpose is to steal, to kill, and to destroy. We also don’t realize that God has empowered up and equipped us to face this foe and push his forces back. As Christians, we live in enemy territory. We are in the world but not of it. We are ambassadors to this world. This is not our home. We are sent into the world, not to suffer, not to endure persecution. Though that is what best proves our faith, that is not why we are still on this planet as a Christian. Our purpose, for still being here as a born-again Christian, is to go out and rescue the lost. To go and declare war not on the lost but against the powers of darkness, against the authorities that imprison the lost. And God has equipped up to do that job. He sends us out as sheep amongst wolves, but we serve a God who loves to do the impossible. And to demonstrate his power and his glory, he loves to put us in impossible situations. So when we face such impossible odds, let us go forth and charge to claim the victory that God has promised up. Why should we fear defeat when God does not send us out to lose but to win?
One reason we don’t make a stand in this war is because we lack a war cry. I never bought into a war cry for the longest times. I always saw it as a waste of energy and a waste of your voice. I understood the arguments of how it riles you up and how it is meant to invoke fear into your enemy. But I did not understand how it really worked, until this last year when I heard a short sermon from Eric Ludy, the senior pastor at the Ellerslie Mission Society in Northern Colorado. The short sermon was about the war cry used by the Israelite army, particularly when conquering the Promised Land. And that was war cry is “Rak Chazak!”
What is this? What does it mean? It comes from the phrase Rak Chazak Amats. Let us define these words and you can find them in your Strong’s Concordance in Joshua 1:6,7, and 9.
“Rak”: It is a plead, an emphasis. If only we could be this, if only you would do that. Rak is that cry where all you need is this or that which follows it. In Joshua 1:7, Rak translates into the NKJV as “only.”. A special plead to follow through with what follows.
“Chazak” means to stand firm, to hold your ground. In all three verses it says “Be Strong”. It means to strengthen, to fortify, to withstand, to prevail. It means to be the man. Chazak is what it is to take a look at your opponent in the eye, to grip your sword so tightly that your hand will clave to it. Chazak is what it takes to tell your opponent, “I don’t care who you are, how big you are, how strong you are, how many you have, you are going DOWN!”
“Amats” is the rest of it. Chazak means to be strong. Amats means to be courageous or to be of good courage. Amats is the unwavering, unyielding confidence of victory before the field is ever taken. It is being alert and ready for anything Amats does not care about the odds, it does not care about the impossibilities. Amats says, “Let’s get this job done!”
What examples do we have of what Chazak and Amats looks like? What about David versus Goliath. This is not just a mere story of the little guy beating the big guy. This really happened. There was a real David and there was a real Goliath. And David slew the giant with Chazak and Amats. What about his Mighty Men? Jashobeam killed 800 men in one battle. Eleazar stood and defended a field to the point where his hand literally froze to his sword. He could not let it go. Three of David’s Mighty Men drew water from the well of Bethlehem, while it was occupied from the Philistines. They traversed 12 miles of rocky, mountainous terrain, fighting through a Philistine garrison, drew the water, and fought their way back with the Philistines on their tails. Just for a cup of water for King David. That is Chazak and Amats. The list in 2 Samuel 23 goes on.
What would happen today if we as believers got Chazak and Amats? What would that look like? What would it look like if we were to fearlessly proclaim the truth of the Gospel of Christ no matter what the odds, no matter what opposition came our way? What would it look like if we were to hunker down and fight our battles on our knees in prayer? What would it look like if we were to get off our comfortable seats and go to the places that most won’t? What if we were to do more than just feed the hungry, but spend time with them? Listen to their stories? What about the starving in Africa, or the victims of the cartel and gang violence of Juarez, Mexico? What about your neighbors who are struggling to make ends meet? What would it look like for the church to be the church?
Rak Chazak! We cannot let ourselves get comfortable. We have an enemy that is out to not just destroy us but to get us to believe we are ineffective for the battle. All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Some 150,000 people die every day and go to hell because they have not accepted the gift of Jesus Christ. What are we doing about it? Our generation today is the first generation that has ever lived that can get the Gospel to every person on this planet. And the Bible is available in more formats and languages than ever before. What are we doing with this amazing opportunity? Rak Chazak, Worldview Warriors!
Our enemy is going to fight to keep you from engaging in the battle. If you are not fighting, he won’t worry about you and he will continue to devour whom he can devour. What if you can rise up and make a stand, take the hit so that someone else does not have to? What if you can draw the enemy’s attention towards yourself so that someone else can get a chance to get back onto his feet? You have the skills and the armory to fight against this enemy. Will you? Rak Chazak!
No matter what the enemy throws at you. No matter what odds you face. You serve a God who loves to do the impossible. So charge forward with the confidence and faith that he will come through. Take your orders from the true Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ. We go in as sheep, but the sheep of our God will beat the wolf pack. Do not be afraid! Stand your ground! The victory is yours! Go out and claim it! RAK CHAZAK!
Coming up at the end of this weekend, we have the most popular sporting event of the year in our country. I’m of course talking about the Super Bowl. Some gather to watch it just because it’s a reason to party. Others watch the game to see the newest and most clever commercials. Many more watch it because they actually like football. Right now, millions of people are making plans for the game and are hearing and learning new information about the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. Many who haven’t watched a single game all season will watch the Super Bowl and be able to talk about the game, the halftime show, and the commercials the next day at work.
I don’t know if it will happen this year or not, but I can remember when I was younger seeing at least one person at the Super Bowl every year that had a sign saying “John 3:16” on it. It would be accurate to say that John 3:16 is kind of like the “Super Bowl of Scripture”. There’s a good chance you could quote your favorite translation of it right now and many who know nothing else about the Bible know at least a little bit of this verse. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (NIV). The problem is that many who know the verse don’t know the context of it. I’ve said before that the books in the Bible were originally written without chapters and verses, so they weren’t meant to be read out of context. In this case, the words were spoken by Jesus himself and they were spoken directly to ONE man.
The story in John 3 deals with Nicodemus, who was “a member of the Jewish ruling council” (v. 1). The commentary in my Expositor’s Study Bible states that Nicodemus was said to have been one of the three richest men in Jerusalem. He comes to Jesus, calls him “teacher” only because he doesn’t understand that he is God in the flesh, and tells him that they know he has come from God based on the miracles he has done (v. 2). Jesus responds, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again” (v. 3). He was telling Nicodemus that regardless of his religion, he couldn’t even begin to understand anything about God without being born of the Holy Spirit (vv. 5-8). Throughout their conversation, Nicodemus continues to try to understand it intellectually. But Jesus makes it clear that being born again by the Holy Spirit is not something you simply “figure out”. It’s something you experience without understanding in the same way you experience wind without knowing its direction (v. 8).
The story continues with Jesus referencing an event from Numbers 21:4-9, where God commanded Moses to make a statue of a snake and put it on a pole so that those who had been bitten by poisonous snakes could look up at it and be saved. It was their ONLY hope for salvation in Israel. In the same way, Jesus tells Nicodemus that he will be “lifted up”, referencing the crucifixion, so that “everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (John 3:15). With that, the stage is set for the “Super Bowl” of Scripture verses. Jesus again declares that it is only through him that people are saved from their eternal death. The NIV says “one and only Son” and other translations say “only begotten Son”. I was taught since I was very young how amazing it is that God would give up his only son for me and it was likened to other parents who only have one child. However, this completely undersells what God did for you and me. The Greek word for that phrase actually means “only and UNIQUE” (The Greek New Testament [caps mine]). Do you see the difference between what we think when we first read the words and what the original language says? This wasn’t a big deal because it was God’s only son. It was a big deal because Jesus Christ is the ONLY and UNIQUE one of his kind there ever was or ever will be! No one else came from God, no one else was the perfect sacrifice, and no one else was God in the flesh.
Jesus is the only way to God because he is the only one who COULD be. Others claimed to be the Messiah in early centuries before and after Jesus. There were even some who were ascribed the title unwillingly by their peers. John the Baptist was one such person. He was a prophet whose sole purpose was to be a forerunner for Jesus and to prepare the way for him (Matthew 3:2-3). He had disciples who falsely believed he was the Messiah even when he told them he was not. Later in John 3, he testifies again as to who he is and who Jesus is. He completes his testimony to his disciples by echoing the words of Jesus to Nicodemus. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (v. 36).
The disciples of John the Baptist gave up their lifestyle and followed him in the desert as he prepared the way for Jesus, yet only faith in Jesus as the one who took God’s entire wrath which they deserved could save them. Nicodemus was a rich and religious man who knew the Scriptures that we refer to today as the Old Testament. But only a spiritual rebirth that came through faith in Jesus as not just teacher, but also God in the flesh who came to die for his sins, could save him. So it is for you and me. Regardless of what advantages or disadvantages we’ve had in our lives, our need for Jesus levels the playing field. There is no other way to life with God except through him.
When most people think of faith, they think of belief in something that is unseen. When others think of faith, they automatically think of physical action; putting their faith to work. But I tell you what, there are times when practicing one’s faith requires a person to endure, allow, and turn the other cheek. It is this type of faith that some people might mistake as weakness or passivity. In the situations where this sort of faith is required, it is often the most difficult sort of faith to employ. Welcome to Downtown State University’s wrestling room.
There is a reason why I skipped any details about the first day of practice. It was uneventful and kind of boring. Don’t get me wrong, I woke up very sore this morning but at least I wasn’t banged up, bruised, or requiring stitches. Today is a different day. The morning session was not too different from yesterday. We did a routine circuit lift, where each person lifted weights at every station and every machine for one minute straight. The second session was the real deal. We were engaging in our first “live” practice day. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with that term, it simply means that we were going to end practice with full go, no holding back, all-out wrestling.
We were nearing the end of practice and coach Maximus pooled us all into groups of three people.
“Listen up, everybody. We are going to play a little game called ‘shark bait.’ This game is kind of like ‘king of the mat,’ but instead of the standing person coming out as soon as he is taken down, he will remain the active wrestler for a full ten minutes while the other two rotate as they wrestle against him for thirty second goes. All three people will go through this rotation. Good luck.”
Let me remind you at this point that I am just a freshman. Coach Maximus, for whatever reason, decided to place me with a senior and his student assistant coach. The seniors name is Grant Jordan. This guy was born and raised in the ghetto and he looked the part. Rugged dude, loved to lift weights with his shirt off, and did not treat you with respect unless you first earned it from him. Instead of replacing the coaches name entirely, I am going to give you a hint of what his true identity is. Today he is known as “the Hurricane.” At that time he had just completed his final year of collegiate wrestling and was a four time national qualifier. Needless to say, I am out of my league in this match-up. And unfortunately, because I lacked seniority, I was the last one in the three man rotation.
Hurricane and Grant had the first thirty second go. I observed them, but not a whole lot was happening; just a lot of standing around. There were several instances where they engaged on another in tie-ups, but they quickly broke out. The first thirty seconds was up…my turn. It was Hurricane versus myself. I am a highly offensive wrestler, so I immediately start setting up my first move. Once I spotted my opening, I attacked his legs, knowing that it probably would not end well. Hurricane blocked me, but nothing else happened. I regained my balance, stayed tied up with him, and finally realized why not a whole lot had happened in that first thirty seconds between Hurricane and Grant. After regaining my footing, Hurricane lowered his hips, shifted his weight, and launched me a good five feet off of the mat, across his body, in a perfect hip-toss. As demoralizing as it may sound, I was actually quite honored to have taken part in such a well-executed move…I just wish I were the one hitting the throw and not being thrown. My first thirty seconds live expired and Grant was back in. The next few times I had learned from my mistakes and did not get schooled quite as badly by Hurricane, but still pretty bad. When his ten minutes were up, Grant was in for his first ten.
Grant squared-off against me and I immediately engaged him as I had Hurricane. This time it was a little different. He and I were a little closer in skill-level, yet with Grant still possessing a clear advantage. Towards the end of the first thirty seconds, he hit a throw on me and took me down. So both Hurricane and Grant were throwers.
The next thirty seconds, I adjusted my strategy. Grant pulled a quick throw on me and took me down, but I immediately escaped and got back up and busy. He was a little more confident and I knew at that point I had him where I wanted him. He approached me again, preparing to set up another throw, but I popped his arms up as he reached for me and tackled his legs with all my strength. He fell backwards and I collected my first takedown in the practice room. That thirty seconds expired and I had ignited a fire in Grant. I watched as he squared off against Hurricane. He was clearly not happy, but dared not lose his temper. Our next couple of goes we were fairly evenly matched, with him still leading me in points. Close to the end of his ten minutes he started getting more aggressive.
I tied up with him, and we were clenched for two or three seconds when I noticed a shock come from the right side of my head. Grant’s elbow caught my right cheek bone and I was knocked slightly off balance. I was just enough off balance for Grant to capitalize and take me down. But he was not finished. While I was down he grinded his elbow into the back of my head to keep me down just long enough for the time to expire. From then until the end of Grant’s ten minutes, he was especially aggressive.
My turn was up. I knew that this was not going to be pretty; Grant and Hurricane taking turns hammering away on my already broken exhausted body. Me versus Hurricane for the first thirty seconds, it was not pretty but I survived. Once again, Grant stepped forward for his first go. At that point he hated me and it was payback time for the past ten minutes.
He came down aggressively in a strong tie-up, hammering the back of my head with his hand. I countered and squared up with him gripping him forehead-to-forehead.
“Come on,” he said in a muffled but intimidating voice, “show me what you got.”
I broke the tie-up and shot in at his legs to no avail. He crashed down on top of me with his hips to end our thirty seconds. I stood up to face Hurricane only to be shoved back down to the mat by Grant, from behind. Hurricane took full advantage and pounced on my back.
“Let’s go Ryan, this is for real now.” Said Hurricane.
Grant came back in after thirty, it was on. He went for a tie-up and threw a punch, but I saw it coming. I ducked and slipped behind him, but did not have the strength to take him down. He threw elbows wildly. I was getting fatigued.
Hurricane was back in. Instead of waiting for his onslaught, I shot for his near leg. I caught it and began to elevate it only to have him maneuver his way out. That round went much like the other one’s I had against him. Grant came back in and continued his rage. At this point, I am almost losing my cool. Nothing left and taking abuse I start contemplating some serious retaliation. I was tired of his cheap shots and I wanted it to end.
We tied-up again and he slid off balance. If I wanted a cleaner shot at his face with my fist I was not going to have one. Oh, how gratifying it would have felt to take this guy down with one well-placed hit, but the Lord spoke to me at that moment. “Turn the other cheek,” were the words that resounded in my mind. I could not take the cheap shot. Instead, I threw him into a headlock that he easily escaped from and my body collapsed under its own weight. Hurricanes turn.
He jumped in and noticed that I was not moving a whole lot down on bottom. He started kneeing me in the side of my ribs. I tried to get up and he grinded his forearm into the back of my head. I was stuck.
Time was running short and I do not remember who finished me off. All I remember is coach Maximus blowing the whistle and letting us know that the time was up and to start cooling down by jogging around the mats. It took me two or three minutes to stand up. I was so disoriented that I could not tell which direction my teammates were running, nor could I tell where my exact location was in the room. You might say that I was toast. After our cool down, we returned to the locker room, got showered, dressed, and started to leave.
Before leaving, I went to get a sip of water from the water fountain because I had lost fifteen pounds during that practice and was dehydrated. I leaned over to get a sip of water from the fountain and as I was sipping I heard a gruff sounding voice calling out to me.
“Hey man.” It was Grant.
“What’s up?” Was my response.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for what happened back there.”
I was actually sort of astonished and touched. I did not expect nor require an apology. I had never been assaulted like that in a wrestling room before, but I knew that was what happens in a college wrestling room.
Before he could get anymore words out of his mouth to express his guilt, I interrupted. “Don’t worry about it bro. I mean, that’s what it’s all about, right?” He got an ironic smirk on his face and I knew at that point I had won his respect. He did not utter another word, he just clasped my hand and gave me a big hug. From that day forward Grant and I had a totally different relationship. Had it not been for Jesus, he and I would have been the worst of enemies for the duration of his senior year and he would have been robbed of a great honor at the end of the season.
Did you see that coming? Grant and Ryan seem to be buds now. But what is this honor that Grant would receive since he and Ryan were going to get along from that point forward? You will have to wait to find out because next time we are going back to class to see what Dr. Derkins has to say.
