Saturday, July 4

Drifting

Scripture: Hosea 2-5, Hebrews 2

Hebrews 2:1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it.

Observation

The author of Hebrews is writing to a group of Christians who are in danger of losing their faith.  In this verse, he gives a clear warning and a solution.

The warning: we may drift away from our faith.  Most people don’t abandon their faith in Jesus in a single cataclysmic event or act.  They drift away.  The picture is of a ship whose anchor comes loose and begins to drift on the tide or with the wind.  It is not intentional; it’s the result of carelessness or inattention.  And it’s imperceptible at first.  You don’t realize you are drifting.  Then all at once, you look up and notice that you’re far from shore.  

C. S. Lewis sagely remarked in Mere Christianity: “And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?”

The solution: listen very carefully to the truth we have heard (or “pay close attention”).  If the problem is caused by carelessness or inattention, the solution is to care and pay attention.  

This is true in every area of life.  If you own a business and stop caring and paying attention, your business will soon suffer and may close.  If you’re married and stop caring for your spouse and paying attention to the relationship, your marriage will drift and may run aground.  If you stop caring about and paying attention to your physical health and well-being, you will soon drift into sickness and hasten your death!

And it’s true spiritually as well.  Drifting is the natural result of inattention—and it leads to disaster.

Application

It’s obvious: be attentive to Jesus, to His word, to your relationship with Him.  Make it a daily priority and you won’t drift, but will remain close, anchored to Him.  

Prayer: Lord, help me to be attentive to You all day long and every day.  I don’t want to drift.  In fact, I want to get closer, not drift away.