I love boxing! Not doing it; watching it. J
I appreciate the athleticism needed to be good at it. I know that among
Christians, there is debate about boxing. The brutality and gratuitous violence
are a point of contention. But please don't let that debate distract you from
what I’m sharing today.
I love the imagery given here by the Amplified version of
the Scriptures. Paul is telling the Believers at Corinth that he makes it a
point to subject himself to hardship on behalf of God. To the Roman church, he
encouraged them to present their bodies as living sacrifices unto God. This is
the same sentiment that he is sharing with the Corinthians. Paul is willingly
and proactively ready to undergo beatings (literally and figuratively) in order
to be able to present himself as a holy and pleasing sacrifice to the Lord. Hardships
are the way in which we grow in a depth of faith and trust that allows us to
present ourselves as a sacrifice to God. As we’ve all heard before, the problem
with a living sacrifice is that it moves! We try to get off the altar; not stay
on and endure the burn! But Paul says that he brings his body under submission
because he wants to be a steadfast believer. Because heaven forbid that he
should teach the truth to others only to learn, when the trial comes his way,
that his faith is a sham!
How about you? When the bell rings and it’s time to fight,
will you come out of your corner ready to do battle? Ready to face an attack?
To buffet means to strike sharply…to strike repeatedly…to batter…to drive,
force, move, or attack by or as if by repeated blows. Jesus assures us that in
this life we are going to have times of attack. There is no way to avoid that.
So will you face it and fight or will you cower in the corner? Take a moment to
close your eyes and imagine this: you are a boxer, you are standing in your
corner of the ring, the first round bell rings and your opponent comes out of
their corner with a murderous look in their eye. You, instead of coming out of
your corner to fight, curl up in a ball on the floor. Your opponent (the
adversary), starts beating the tar out of you as you cower! This is not the
image of a fighter that the Lord is looking for.
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal
life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12“Be careful—watch out for attacks from Satan, your great enemy. He prowls around like a hungry, roaring lion, looking for some victim to tear apart.” 1 Peter 5:8 (TLB)
Let me encourage you – FIGHT! Welcome that buffeting because
in that, the Lord is building up a giant in the faith! And as He builds you up,
you become an unstoppable force for Christ.
Lord, may Your kingdom come and Your will be done
on this earth and especially in our lives. Father, the buffeting is not pleasant but may
we join in the suffering (MSG version says “take it on the chin”) like a good
soldier of Christ Jesus [2 Tim. 2:3], so that along with those we’ve encouraged,
we will be found to be holy and pleasing to You. Amen.
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