TRIALS IN A TENT...

The scene is the movie, "Matrix: Reloaded". Seraph has just attacked Neo and gestures with his hand to stop the fight:

Seraph: Good. The Oracle has many enemies. I had to be sure.
Neo: Of what?
Seraph: That you are The One.
Neo: Could've just asked.
Seraph: No. You do not truly know someone, until you fight them.

Every meaningful, genuine relationship will at some point be tested by the fire of conflict. I believe this is true of friendships, family, lovers...even a human being's relationship with the Creator of all things. In the latter, the wrestling takes place as a result of our inability or unwillingness to understand and embrace the work of God in our lives. There comes a time in all of the relationships we define as precious where strife or friction makes the thought of walking out on our commitment to the other seem very attractive. It is in having every opportunity and even desire (albeit selfish and ignorant at the time) to walk out on our relationship with Jesus, that we often discover the magnitude and weight of the communion we share with Him. In the time of testing we consider and remember the history we have with Him. We recall the moments when His loving embrace touched the deepest reaches of our hearts and left it's imprint on us as permanently as a tattoo on our souls.

Then we discover, in the midst of our pain and confusion, that while we've always had the freedom to renig on our friendship with God and turn our back on Him in rebellion, somewhere along the line that choice ceased to be an option. We have been touched too deeply...loved too completely...and we are no more able to walk out on His kindness than we are able to escape our own skin. We begin to understand that a sometimes hard road in the hands of a sovereign Savior is infinitely better than an often comfortable one in the hand of the world. Our devotion to Him is matured in the furnace of hardship. Sooner or later, every believer will find themselves like Jacob, in a tent with God wrestling until dawn (Genesis 32:22-28). The intensity and length of the night may vary from person to person, but the experience itself is universal to all earnest pursuits of faith. If we remain honest and persevere we'll walk away from it blessed all the more, cherishing it as an encounter with God...a place where we caught a fresh glimpse of His face, and walked (or limped) away forever changed by His grace.