Wrestling With An Attitude

Wrestling With An Attitude

“Our struggle is ... against ... the spiritual forces of evil.” Ephesians 6:12

In the last period of the wrestling match he lost his speed, then his strength. One minute he was winning 15-5. The next he was pinned. Disgusted, he headed straight for the locker room. I followed, hoping to console him. I had gotten to know this wrestler because he had visited the teen Bible study. He had what the kids called “an attitude problem.” He’d do it his way – whether it was getting to the state finals, or heaven.

Some of his teammates told him that he couldn’t get to heaven without accepting Jesus Christ as his Savior. His coach told him that without Christ he would never win the spiritual wrestling match described in the Bible: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers ... the authorities ... the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 6:12 NIV).

One wrestler even told him that our only victory over sin and death is Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:54-57). Did he listen to the message of salvation? Did he act on what he heard? I couldn’t ask him. As I entered the locker room, he collapsed into my arms, went into a coma caused by a brain hemorrhage, and died the next day.

Are you wrestling life’s battles all by yourself? Do you think you can conquer sin and get to heaven all by yourself? This wrestler couldn’t and you can’t either. His teammates showed him the only move that could beat the enemy – the move to Christ. Did he make that move? We’ll never know.

But how about you? Deep down, you know you’re losing the wrestling match with sin. Do you know that the inevitable result of that loss is eternal separation from God? Will you accept Jesus as your Savior before it’s too late? We can show you how!

By Larry Ondrejack