Swim Team


A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege of being able to attend my grandson’s first swim team practice. He has been taking swimming lesson for several summers, so it was now time to see if he could compete with other kids his age in the pool. Will had a private lesson before the first practice, just to get him up to speed since it had been months since he had been in a swimming pool. The instructor gave him the thumbs up to begin participating in swim team the following day. 

Will is a bit of a competitor; he likes to be seen, heard, and recognized, at school, at home and when participating in sports, so I was anxious to see what would happen when he took to the water. The diving part was a bit of a challenge for many of the kids, as they would jump with their hands in diving formation above their heads instead of going in head first. Once in the water the arms and legs were in flapping and kicking with water splashing all around. At that point I noticed that instead of keeping his face down and his head pointed toward the finish line, Will was looking at the friend in the next lane to see where his teammate was positioned. As he looked to the side, he began swimming in that direction and lost his focus on the goal.

Scripture gives us the exact same lesson. In our Christian life we must keep our eyes on the goal--the ultimate prize which is hearing our Father say, “Well done my good and faithful servant” as we enter His presence in heaven. If we get distracted and look around to see what others are doing, we lose sight of what God wants us to be doing. God doesn’t tell us that we have to be first to the finish line, but that we should press on toward the goal to win the prize. There are prizes for each one who follows God’s path in obedience, keeping their focus on the ultimate goal of pleasing God.

What is your focus? Are you looking to God for direction or do you look to your friends, family and the world to guide your way?

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13b-14

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