A Swing or a Top

Young girl on swing Royalty Free Stock ImageMany people imagine the Christian life as similar to a child on a swing.  When you are young you need the help of dad, a push, in order to swing.  However as a child learns to pump his or her legs and swing without the push, so the mature Christian becomes stronger and stronger and less dependent upon God.

The swing analogy is not Biblical.

Toy top Royalty Free Stock PhotographyRather, the Christian life is much more as if each Christian is a top that is dependent upon God to spin.  The top cannot spin itself, it is dependent upon someone to spin it.  To mature as a Christian is not to learn to become stronger and less dependent upon God, rather it is to recognize your weakness and utter dependance upon Christ for all things.  You never become strong enough to be self reliant, rather you become less and less self reliant and more and more Christ reliant.

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