“Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” John 17:3

It was obvious I was winning. I had my opponent in a grip that was unbreakable…all I had to do was SQUEEZE! But then, my ears perked and a sideways glance forced me to make an adjustment…”HIIIIII_YAAAAAAA!” was the cry, as my younger grandson lept upon me in an attempt to rescue his brother. It was ‘game on,’ with giggles, squeals, screams and threats of annihilation if they didn’t ‘yield!’ Something that they NEVER do!

“I’ll crush your bones to powder and sprinkle it on my cereal,” was met with “Oh YEAAA? Take THIS!” As we rolled around on the floor and couch, even parents laughed, as I worked harder to make sure that my offspring DIDN’T get hurt!! Having raised 2 sons of my own, I’ve had LOTS of practice! In retrospect, we weren’t really wrestling or fighting. We were BONDING! And I was loving every second!

I had a great question come to me yesterday in Church. “Why was God so ‘grumpy’ in the Old Testament? You know…all that killing and threatening stuff?” It was a fair question and one that “I” know makes God smile on the inside. Because the question is REALLY and attempt by the questioner to ‘understand God.’ And NOTHING pleases ‘The Father’ more than an honest attempt at getting to know Him. Even if it comes in the form of a fight!

There is no question that humans are complex creatures. Developing even 1 personal relationship takes time, trust, vulnerability and work. I can’t even imagine how God does it with MILLIONS of people. Each of us is unique and demanding in our own ‘special’ way. In the ‘Old Covenant,’ God HAS to lay down the ‘Rules of The House!’ Having provide EVERY luxury in the Garden o f Eden, only to have it thrown back in His face, He was NOW faced with fighting to win back His own creation! Enter Jesus!

Jesus gives me ‘goose bumps!’ His prayer to His Father in John 17 is NOT so much for the masses as it is for ME! In the 47 times He prays for ‘those, them and they,’ He REALLY means ME! JESUS, who knows God best, wants ME to know His father in the same way HE does. The REAL question is… am ‘I’ ready for a bonding, Father-son wrestling match in order to get close? Are ‘you?‘