Drifting Away – Hebrews 2:1-4

Text: Hebrews 2:1-4

There was a time when I (Don Treadway) and a fellow sailor went snorkeling off a Hawaiian beach when we were stationed there with the Navy.

We started following an exotic fish only to realize, almost too late, that we hadn’t kept track of time.

When I finally lifted my head out of the water, what I saw terrified me: the beach was so far away as to be barely visible.

A few minutes of distraction almost cost us our lives, but both of us made it back safely, though exhausted.

It occurred to me recently that something similar often happens spiritually, but with much more tragic consequences.

Have you ever watched someone walk away from God?

A once-devoted follower of Jesus who worshiped him passionately now avoids speaking of him.  It’s a terrible thing.

Occasionally, I suppose, it happens with one big splash, some kind of all-of-the-sudden loss of faith that leads to desertion.

Maybe it’s a catastrophe that creates doubt that wasn’t there before, or at least wasn’t recognizable.

But more often it happens another way.

Drifting

It begins slowly with a few tentative steps away from God.

They’re not noticeable at first, maybe not even to the one taking them.

If not checked, however, a believer finds himself so far from shore that he no longer has the strength or will to make it back.

That’s why the Bible has warnings like this one:

Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?  (Hebrews 2:1-4).

Maybe our first tendency is to do what I did above, think about a friend or family member who’s drifted.

But a more appropriate response is to look inward.

Some Christians Let Their Guard Down

Not much, perhaps, and maybe no one else even knows.

Just a little more relaxed attitude toward sins that used to bother them, or perhaps a lesser commitment to spiritual things like worship and prayer.

Does that ever describe you?

“Give the more earnest heed,” the Bible warns, “Lest you drift away.”

Perhaps this passage should lead us today to conduct a sort of spiritual checkup.

• How’s my relationship with Jesus?
• How’s my devotional life?
• How am I treating people?
• Is my worship spontaneous and sincere or rote and ritualistic?

We all go through spiritual down times, of course, and being at a low point doesn’t mean we’ve lost our faith.

But it probably means that we need to look back toward the Lord, pray to him, and ask him to turn our hearts toward him again.

The best time to stop a drift is soon after it starts, before it gathers momentum.

If you look around today and notice signs of distraction, turn back quickly.

Don’t let yourself get too far away from shore. That can be deadly.