Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 3
Using Colossians 3:23, Brian said shallow paddling (“top three inches of the water”) doesn’t move a canoe and compared it to life; where have you built a Christian life that looks active but is mostly “paddle out of the water” (talk, analysis, content), and what would “dig deep and pull hard” look like in specific obedience this month?
Another way to ask: Where does your Christian life look busy but stay on the surface (mostly talk and learning)? What would “dig deep and pull hard” look like as one clear act of obedience this month?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s analogy, a Christian life can look busy while producing little real movement if our effort stays “shallow” or even “out of the water.” “Dig deep and pull hard” means whole-hearted work “as working for the Lord,” especially when the current is against you.
- Brian quotes Colossians 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as working for the Lord.”
- He explains paddling: if the blade is “out of the water, you’re not getting anywhere,” and if it’s only in “two or three inches, you’re not doing much.”
- He repeats the life lesson: “You got to get it all the way down… and then you pull as hard as you can.”
- He describes fear moments (white water/fast current) where boys panic and lift paddles; the solution is still to “dig deep and pull hard.”
- He concludes: “There’s nothing in life that amounts to much if you’re just kind of shallow.”