Lessons from a Sailboat 2

Lesson 2: Take a boating course

The Government of Canada requires everyone who uses a boat to earn a Pleasure Craft Operator Card. This card proves that the person has studied the regulations and safety protocols for the use of watercraft in this country. The course is very helpful but it does not teach you how to use the boat you have. For that you need to actually get out on the water. For those of us who use a sailboat there are special skills and specific information about wind and waves that need to be learned. I took 13 weeks of in-class instructions, several days of hands-on instructions form a sailing club and the help of an experienced sailor to get me to the point of feeling confident about my own sailing.

In our Christian life we need good teaching and reliable coaching if we are to grow in our faith and become the Christians we ought to be. I am very grateful to the Sunday school teachers and youth Bible leaders that I had in my formative years, and to the various pastors who led our small church. I am thankful for the opportunity of taking courses at a Bible college. And today I am still a part of a home Bible study group. We can try to “go it alone” as a Christian, but this often results in misinterpretations of Scripture and a Christian life that is not well balanced. To be the best we can be, we need to keep learning from each other as we seek to apply God’s word to our lives.

Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.