Learning to Swim
"Why is learning to swim so
important?" I asked with a quivering voice.
"Because if you ever get thrown from a boat, you won't have
to worry about drowning." My step grandfather's response
caused much anxiety as we were sitting in a small boat in
the middle of a huge lake. The thing I remember most about
Matney was the fact that his skin seemed excessively
suntanned for a man who had made a living underground mining
coal--that, and of course the fact that he could swim like
an Olympic gold medalist.
"Can't we just keep fishing?" I begged.
"We could," he said with a smile, "but catching fish won't
save your life when you're going under." My knuckles turned
white from my death-grip on the side of the boat. "I've
changed my mind," I whined. "I don't want to learn how to
swim."
"We'll see about that," he laughed. Then prying my fingers
from the rocking boat, he quickly offered a few last-minute
suggestions for staying afloat. "Don't forget to move your
feet and hands in order to keep your head above the
water--stay calm at all times, and remember, at the first
sign of danger, I can be at your side within seconds."
Suddenly, the frigid waters engulfed my panic-stricken body
after Matney threw me from the boat. Struggling to remain
buoyant, I kicked my legs and waved my arms before realizing
I was actually doing it--I was swimming! I'm sure it didn't
look graceful, but at least I made it back to the boat
without assistance.
Pulling myself into the vessel, I began parading around deck
as though I had just defeated the world's greatest swimmer.
"Good job!" Matney applauded. "I knew you could do it, but
to make sure it wasn't beginner's luck, let's see it again!"
He then tossed me back into the freezing waters.
As Christians--sometimes called fishers of men--we need to
know how to survive in case our spiritual boats capsize in
the middle of an ocean of sin. The reason we are there in
the first place is to save souls from the depths of sins.
However, before any of us ever climb aboard a rescue vessel,
we should know how to survive in the water. I'm not
suggesting that we live in sin; I am simply saying we should
do our level best to stay above it. But even the most
careful and experienced sailor knows accidents happen, and
there will be times when falling overboard cannot be helped.
It's times like these that we should immediately make a
conscious effort to return to the boat.
I try to apply Matney's words in my everyday spiritual life:
"We could [keep fishing], but catching fish won't save your
life when you're going under." How often do we witness
drowning Christians trying to pull unbelievers from the
deep? Remember, a lifeguard should first know how to survive
long before ever attempting to save the life of another. The
same can be said of the Christian--if a believer is unable
to stay afloat, how on earth will he be able to save someone
else?
The only way is through Jesus Christ. It's always good to
know that if we have problems or struggles while trying to
make it back to the boat, we have the Champion of champions
waiting to jump in and rescue us. After all, Jesus is the
only person who was able to stay above the treacherous
depths of sin--as a matter of fact, He was even known to
walk on it.
Mike Collins