The other day I took the kids to the Siskey YMCA to swim. Now it does not matter if they swam as good as Michael Phelps—every single day last year—this year they still have to prove they are able to adequately swim by taking a ‘swim test.’
The swim test is easy…
for swimmers.
It’s a nightmare for those who simply ‘talk about’ their swimming ability but can’t actually swim. And it’s incredibly frustrating for those who ought to be able to swim in deeper waters who are perfectly content to keep wading around in the kiddy-pool in their swim diapers.
Now that’s a scary picture!
We’re in the great book of Hebrews at Southbrook Church right now and it actually talks about these different levels of maturity throughout the book. For example:
I have a lot more to say about this, but it is hard to get it across to you since you’ve picked up this bad habit of not listening. By this time you ought to be teachers yourselves, yet here I find you need someone to sit down with you and go over the basics on God again, starting from square one-baby’s milk, when you should have been on solid food long ago! Milk is for beginners, inexperienced in God’s ways; solid food is for the mature, who have some practice in telling right from wrong. Hebrews 5:11 (The Message)
and here in 1 Corinthians:
I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 1 Cor. 3:2
Apparently Paul had a group of toddlers sashaying up to the quarry thinking they were ready to plumb the depths. Allowing them to would have been a disaster at best—spiritual negligence at worst.
Seems Paul had a bit of a dilemma. On the one hand he had those who clearly needed to take the next step lest the very real danger of spiritual atrophy sideline them for life. On the other hand he also had to protect those too immature to wade in the deep waters from accidently (or purposely) ending up in the quarry where many end up drowning.
What to do? What to do?
Wait, I have think I have a solution!
How about some sort of spiritual ‘swim test?’ What if there were a way to know whether or not you’re ready, overly ready, or not even close to being ready for deep stuff?
As it turns out, there is. Isn’t that good news?
Tomorrow I’ll begin to unpack it for you.
* Remember that we pick back up with “Only God — a walk through the book of Hebrews,” THIS weekend! We’ll be in chapter 11 so you won’t want to miss this! Just a little reminder for all you mice who might be playing while the cats away!