Have you ever played tetherball? It's a simple game. A ball is attached to the end of a rope hanging from a pole firmly planted in the ground. Two people stand opposite each other and try to hit the ball and wrap it around the pole in opposite directions. The first one to wrap the ball entirely around the pole wins.
Each player occasionally gets a good whack at the ball to send it in one direction, only to have the opposing player counter with a substantial hit in the opposite direction. A player may take a swing and miss the ball entirely at times due to its speed or being out of reach. As long as the players aren't too mismatched, the game may go back and forth until someone finally succeeds.
As I ponder the simplicity of tetherball, it appears to be an apt illustration of the not-so-simple Christian life. Consider some of the similarities:
We try to navigate our Christian life in a way pleasing to God, but opposing people and forces regularly work against us, impeding progress.
Some days, we make great strides forward, only to have something unexpected knock us back to where we were before (or worse). We're too often reminded of the adage, "Two steps forward, one step back."
Even if we can't think of a good reason why someone would be our enemy working against us, there seems to be no shortage of people, circumstances, or spiritual forces combatting us.
The goal seems easy (wrap the ball around the pole or live our life for God's glory), yet fighting the same battles against ourselves or other opponents can be tiring.
The Christian life isn't simple. Jesus never promised it would be, of course, but we tend to forget that in the hope of a more pleasant experience. Perhaps we would do well to remember some things about tetherball that are easily overlooked in the heat of the game:
There are limits to how far the ball can go from the pole since a rope tethers it. There are limits to how far the Christian firmly held by our heavenly Father can wander in this life.
The boundaries of the tetherball are defined by the pole firmly planted in the ground. The Christian is firmly planted in Christ and His Word, which are unmoving and unchangeable.
So, it may seem at times like we're getting knocked around and going back and forth, up and down, in our spiritual walk, not coming close to the progress we'd like to make. In such times, we should remember these truths:
Our firm foundation is Jesus Christ and His Word (1 Corinthians 3:11).
Our loving Father holds us with a grip that no one can break (John 10:29).
Our task is to keep fighting the fight of faith, trusting in God's promises, and anchoring to His Word until we see our Lord face to face (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Our victory is assured because Christ has already won, and we are united with Him (Romans 8:37).
Life isn't a game; it's more serious than that. But sometimes, we can learn about life from even the simplest games.
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