I grew up in a small town in Central Florida, just an hour east of Tampa, which was a major hub for professional wrestling at the time. By far, my favorite wrestler was Hulk Hogan. Yes, I’m a Hulkamaniac.

I was elated several years ago when I walked into a sandwich shop in Clearwater, FL, and ran into the Hulkster himself! We took a picture and chatted a bit. He was super friendly and asked about where I grew up and what I did for a living. When I told him I was a pastor, he looked me in the eye and said, “Brother, keep me in your prayers.” Some other folks came in and wanted their time with Hulk. We snapped a quick pic together and I said, “I’ll be praying for you, champ.”

As much as I’m a fan of Hulk Hogan, the wrestler, over the years I became a bigger fan of Terry Bollea, the man. It’s no secret that Terry made some terrible choices, faced severe consequences, and suffered deep losses in life. I was sad to see him go through those things, and I often reflected on his sincerity when he asked for prayer back in that sandwich shop. His eye contact, tone of voice, and the crushing grip of his handshake made it clear to me that it was no flippant request. Imagine my joy when, in late 2023, I read that Terry Bollea and his wife were baptized in a church in Florida. He shares his testimony freely, calling it the best day of his life.

Terry Bollea was never perfect. He remained rough around the edges, and until his death, he was a work in progress. At the same time, Terry was also a changed man – one who remained in the grip of grace. I think he’s like many people. Men like my Dad, and countless other people I’ve known as I’ve served the Lord over the past 30 years.

People like you and me.

People like those we read about in the pages of scripture.

People whose journeys were marked by faithfulness and failure, obedience and reluctance, recovery and relapse … all on the way to redemption.

People who wrestled with God.

See, the reason I believe the story of God’s redemption is because the main characters are not people who heroically have it all together. They are deeply flawed and messy people whose lives are changed when they grapple with God. This is because the Bible’s message is not to show us how to live a good life, but how to meet Jesus, whose grace allows us to live a new life – a changed life. It’s about how God shows up in the messy lives of people who aren’t looking for his grace and don’t deserve his grace, but are given his grace and forever changed by it.