Australians are often proud of the ability of our Olympic
swimmers and children start early in the pool. So it is a surprise to some people
that I am such a bad swimmer. However I am not alone, I have come across a
number of people who also swim poorly or not at all. Recently a sister-in-Christ
who once helped people correct their stroke (improve their swimming) started
coaching me so as to correct my stroke. I believe my poor swimming style falls
into two groups:
1.
Bad habits that no one ever help me to correct.
For example, I didn’t know that I could be more efficient by rotating my upper
body with each stroke of the arm.
2.
My stress from fear. My sister-in-Christ pointed out to me that my right
arm was very stiff and that I could swim more efficiently by relaxing.
The apostle Paul brought the Gospel to a world dominated by
Greek culture. Our modern Olympic Games had its origin from the Olympic Games
of ancient Greece. In Paul’s time, an athlete can gained money, prestige, and
privileges by winning in the Games. But in order to do so they have to train
hard. In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote:
“Do
you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games
goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we
do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore
I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer
beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow
to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I
myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1
Corinthians 9:24-27
Sports training like swimming are good examples of our
Christian life. Some of us learn to swim
when we are children; others like me only learn good swimming techniques late
in life. The freedom of being able to swim freely without the fear of not
touching the bottom is like the freedom we feel when we finally realised that
we can have friendship with God because of what Jesus had done for us. This is
exactly why Jesus in John 8:32: “then you will know the truth and truth shall
set you free.” But we shouldn’t stop once we know how to swim because we can
swim more efficiently with better swimming technique. Whatever exercise you do
(e.g. running, cycling, ping pong, swimming etc.) you will develop what is
called muscle memory. That is why people say once you know how to ride a
bicycle you will never forget. However if you are using poor techniques then
you will need someone alongside you to help you develop new muscle memory to
replace the old one. In the same way we shouldn’t stop growing spiritually once
we have turn to Jesus. Because at conversion, your life would still have old
spiritual muscle that would hinder your journey to be more and more like Jesus.
In Romans 5:1-5, Paul wrote:
“Therefore,
since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Through him we have also obtained
access by faith into this grace
in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the
glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given
to us.”
We train hard in the pool. We “do not run like someone
running aimlessly”. We “do not fight like a boxer beating the air”. In the same
way we work to train our spiritual muscle so that we can receive the
everlasting crown.
Finally we must not forget the other ingredient to spiritual
growth and that is our spiritual coach or mentor. This is because spiritual
growth is not easy and we need Christian brothers and sisters who are willing
to swim or walk along side us to help us unlearn the bad and train hard so that
we can one day be completed in Christ! In 1 John 4, John wrote “There is no fear in love …”, when we have loving brothers and
sisters then there is indeed no fear even in the pool!
