drifting

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (Hebrews 2:1, NIV)

Drifting is such an easy thing to do, that’s why it’s such a danger in the life of faith.  All it takes is for us to get so caught up in "playing in the surf" that before we know it we are so far down the beach that we have completely lost sight of where we began.  And the scary part is that we don’t do this knowingly; our lack of attention allows us, imperceptibly, to be carried away by the unseen currents of culture, commentary, and circumstance.  Paul referred to it as being conformed to the pattern of this world, rather than being transformed by the renewing of our minds by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2).  For only when we are holding fast to his word and his truth can we truly know what God’s will is—his good, pleasing, and perfect will.  

Thus, it is apparently not always the big things in the spiritual life that we need to worry about, but the more subtle, unnoticeable ones—like drifting, dulling, and hardening.  That is probably why the writer of Hebrews warns us to pay careful to what we have heard, lest we drift away. What we have heard—the truth about who God is, who we are, and what life is really all about—is to act as our anchor; to provide us with moorings that will hold us safe and secure in a world and a culture that is adrift from the truth.  Otherwise, the voices of this postmodern age might carry us off and convince us that there really is no objective truth, that each of us is free to create and determine his or her own.  In a culture that values inclusion, tolerance, and autonomy beyond all else, this can prove to be quite a challenge; a great deal of attentiveness is required.

That's why the Word of God is so important in this day and age (as it has been in all others).  That is why its inspiration and authority must always be upheld.  The Word of God is where we are reminded of the truth: of who God is, of what he says about us, and of what kind of lives he calls us to live.  That is why we must continually pay careful attention to our spiritual foundation (what we know in our minds to be true about God), for upon it the whole rest of our lives (formation and vocation) is built.  Thus, we must continue to work on our foundation with the same diligence that we work on our formation (our relational knowing of God) and our vocation (how we express God in our lives and world).  Otherwise, we will be far too easily lured into ways of thinking and seeing and being that are not at all consistent with what God really desires for us.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you are the same yesterday, today, and forever.  Thank you that when I hold tightly to you, and your Word, I will never drift away.  Amen.