Wrestling with God

Iowa is serious about wrestling. Yes, other sports get a lot of attention, but I've never seen anything like the energy present in the arena during an Iowa, Iowa State wrestling match. As a long time church observer and participant I've also seen a lot of wrestling matches (metaphorical and occasionally not so metaphorical) in the church. Christians wrestling with each other isn't the picture we like to present of the church but all too often it's what people see.
Of course, wrestling isn't new to the church. Sometimes it sounds as if Christians are shocked at the presence of conflict within the church and wish for some former time when we were all of one heart of mind. Such a time, we all know, never existed. There is no time in Christian history when all Christians agreed with each other. Even in the earliest church, Paul seems to spend his time like an overworked upper judicatory bureaucrat, running from church to church putting out the fires of conflict.
I'm not apologizing for church conflict or condoning it. However, perhaps it's a not too surprising result from the nature of our relationship with God. In the Old Testament, God's people are called "Israel" because they are the people who "wrestle" with God. Throughout scripture we argue with God, confront God, contend with God, misunderstand God and, of course, disobey God. It's no wonder that when we all get together we also contend with each other.
To wrestle with God is to say that there is some kind of parity between us. Wrestling partners are a match for each other in weight and strength. God does not treat us as simply the "95 pound weakling" in the room, but as a partner. Likewise, in the church, the fact that we wrestle with each other speaks of the partnership of equality within which we work and do ministry. To wrestle is to acknowledge relationship. To wrestle is to witness the inherent struggle involved in community building.