"I'm after love--Not more religion. I want you to know God. Not go to more prayer meetings." (Hosea 6:6 MSG)
Wrestling is a popular sport in our area. The school gym is packed with parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and neighbors during wrestling meets. The spectators on the bleachers are there to cheer and support the athletes as they wrestle. Most of them have other stuff to occupy their time as they sit on the sidelines--smartphones, tablets, homework, knitting, etc. Unlike the spectators, the wrestlers on the mat are intensely focused. They feel the pain of twisting limbs, the sweat trickling down their brows. They are aware of each second that passes. They are committed to the task at hand.
The spiritual practices that I have followed up to this point in my life now feel ill-fitting. Either I have grown, or the rituals have shrunk. I feel like a spectator on the sidelines of faith, occupied by distractions--nominally present.
Lord, how do I get back to knowing and loving you? What do YOU want from me? What do I want from YOU?
God wants to have an intimate relationship with each of us. He wants us to know Him. We are created with a need to feel understood. This deep knowing is like wrestling--both exhausting and exhilarating at the same time. This is not a spectator sport that can be enjoyed from the sidelines. We cannot read a page of scripture or attend a prayer meeting and then go on about life as usual. A commitment to truth must become central while lifestyle concerns become peripheral. This level of deep knowing requires intense, focused attention. It is a merging of love, faithfulness, constancy, intimacy.
Into me see
I open up to thee
Immersed in each other
Entwined for eternity.
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