Swim Slow, Go Fast

“How can someone who swims so slow go so fast”?

It’s not a trick question and I’ll give you some clues from the Scriptures that might point us to the answer.

“If the ax is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.”  (Ecc 10:10)

“Are you so foolish? Although you began with the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by human effort?”  (Gal 3:3)

Wait a minute, you might be thinking, I don’t see how those verses relate.  Oh, but they do:

• You can chop wood with a dull ax but you will need more strength to do so.  A sharp ax, however, makes the chopping go so much more easier and requires less strength.  Then, if you add skill and knowledge to the chopping process, you will likely have even greater success.
• In our own strength and effort, we can probably make some progress in growing spiritually but the real growth that God intends comes through relying on the Spirit of God.

To put it all in another way, the right tools, used in the right conditions, in the best manner, normally bring the greatest results.

So back to the original question:  it was asked by a 20 something, buff young man who is strong and full of energy but who was also an inexperienced swimmer.  He asked that question about me, a 60 something who has been swimming laps for some 30 years.  We had competed in a friendly race and he barely beat me.  As I continued swimming and as he watched me, it was then that he asked my daughter: “how can someone who swims so slow go so fast”?

My swimming is comprised of slow, steady, and efficient strokes so it does appear that I swim so slow but go fast.  Full disclosure here, I’m not exactly a fast swimmer, but I do swim efficiently and, in that, there is success.

But as much as I love to swim laps, of much greater importance is to swim the laps of life in the Spirit.