Several years ago, my wife and I went camping with friends at Carlsbad State beach. It is a beautiful place with the campground situated on a bluff overlooking the ocean, with a stairway down to a small, secluded beach. There are no lifeguards, so if you choose to venture into the water to play, swim, or surf, then you are on your own.
One afternoon we were in the water talking with good friends of ours. We enjoyed the ocean swells as they came in, jumping over them and treading water until the water level returned to the point where we could touch the bottom. Our friends floated comfortably on their Boogie boards. Then a swell came in like before, and we treaded water up and over but did not return to touch the bottom. It happened again and then again. I felt a bit exhausted from the amount of time I had been in the water, and I began to experience more fatigue as I continuously tread water. I was in trouble and knew it. I looked at my friend and said, “I need help.” He thrust his Boogie board towards me, and I was able to grasp it. Disaster avoided.
When I turned to look back at the shore, I was amazed at how far out we had drifted, much farther than the line I would have drawn. We had unknowingly been caught in a rip current and were able to swim to the side to escape it, then return to shore.
The crisis just averted was clearly caused by one thing. I was not paying attention. I used to tell my children that the current at the beach was deceptively powerful and that they needed to pay attention. They needed to continuously check their location in relation to our position on the beach to not drift too far down the shore or too far out. I had failed my own guidance, and it had almost cost me. When in the ocean, we must mind the drift.
DRIFTING IN THE SPIRIT
The same advice holds true in the Spiritual. The writer of Hebrews warned, “Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away” (Hebrews 2:1). If I gave my own current day translation, it would be, “Pay attention! Or you could drift away.”
Some drifting is obvious. Some have drifted so far away that they seem to have departed from the faith. They no longer attend church, read their bible, or pray. Sins they were delivered
from once have formed a stronghold again in their life. And they seem not to care.
Others are drifting in that direction but still have a glimmer of faith. They can still be found in church but much less often. The bible is a bore, and they are spending less time in it. Their prayer life has become powerless and forced. Other things are capturing their hearts.
Both examples of drifting are obvious to outside observers. If you find yourself in these places, you need to heed the warning about the dangers of drifting. However, drifting starts from a very imperceptible place. It can happen to those who have not seemingly drifted away from the church, or the bible, or prayer. From all appearances on the outside, things look good.
However, things can look good but not be good. An airplane leaving Los Angeles destined for New York could be off by 1 degree as it flies east. From outward appearances, everything looks fine. It is heading the same direction it has many times before. But if that one degree of drift is not corrected, the plane will miss the mark by many miles. In fact, you would more than likely end up in Baltimore rather than New York. The collaboration between the pilots, the avionics, and ground control continuously work to keep the airplane on course and guard against drift.
The same imperceptible drift can sidetrack a Christian as well. We can be in a good place spiritually and then one day look and see that we have drifted. Most Christians do not have a desire to drift away, so how can this happen?
CHECKING BOXES
Some of the most popular mobile apps today are habit trackers and to-do lists. These are often used by people who want to improve their lives and be more productive. Studies have shown that these programs are effective because users get a pleasure boost from checking boxes. The pleasure received from checking the box increases the desire to perform the habit or task.
While using the check box method to better our habits and become more productive can be extremely effective, using them to build and support relationships can have undesired consequences. Let me explain.
I can create a habit tracker that directs me to tell my wife I love her five times a day; five checkboxes. Another set of trackers to spend at least three times per week in deep intimate conversation, and another tracker to speak something positive to her each day. These are all good things, but my focus can quickly turn from my wife to checking the boxes. I could envision an evening when I noticed I had only said I loved you twice that day and felt pressured to find a way to say it three more times before I fell asleep. In this example, it is easy to see that my focus has changed from my wife to the desire to check boxes.
The same is true with our relationship with God. I like to make sure I read the bible through once every year, spend a quiet time daily with God, have deeper prayer times at least twice a week, attend church a minimum of once a week, participate in a small group twice a month, and so on. I have created habit trackers and to-do entries to make sure I don’t neglect these things. However, if I am not careful, these things can turn my focus from God to just checking boxes.
Maybe like me, you have found yourself there before. Perhaps you find yourself there now. Your relationship with God feels dry and powerless, a sense of just going through the motions. We are not alone. Jesus revealed the same problem with the church in Ephesus. Check out the words of Jesus to the church of Ephesus in Rev. 2:1-5:
“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. (Revelation 2:1-5)
The Ephesians had started well. Their service and their work were motivated by the love they had for the Lord. However, somehow their service and work continued, but the focus had turned away from their love for the Lord. They had drifted away from their first love. We can do the same. We can continue to do the right things, checking the boxes, but we can drift away from our first love if we do not pay attention.
MIND THE DRIFT
If we find we have drifted, then how do we return to where we need to be? After all, we seem to be doing all the right things, checking all the right boxes. Is the answer to stop doing those things? Absolutely not. I do not return my focus to my wife by not telling her I love her. The answer is not to stop doing the things in our checklists but to return our focus to our first love, and the bible gives us direction on how to do that.
REMEMBER. Jesus tells the Ephesians to remember from where you have fallen. The writer of Hebrews tells us to give earnest heed to the things we heard. And I would say to my children to pay attention to where they are. We must keep our eyes on Jesus. I know that sounds like a religious phrase that has no practical application. How can I keep my eyes on something I cannot see? Let me give you a couple of ways to keep your eyes on Jesus. One is through the Word of God as Jesus is revealed within the bible. The other is through the eyes of our heart as we long for Him to make his presence known in our lives. My guess is that both were extremely important to you when you were first saved. Lord, help us to remember.
REPENT. Returning to God always requires repentance. After telling them to remember, Jesus tells the Ephesians to repent. The problem is that the word repentance carries such a negative connotation in our society. Many people feel that the term implies that they are a terrible person, steeped in sin, and completely lost. While we found ourselves in that position before receiving Christ, repentance was not a description of our state but a direction for change. Repentance means to change course. The Greek word “metanoeō,” translated “repent” in the new testament, literally means to change one’s mind or purpose, and in the new testament, is always used as a change for the better.
I live in the high desert of southern California and must go “down the hill” to do many things. There is one freeway down the hill, and it splits into two directions at the bottom. One direction will take me to work, and the other direction takes me to church. A couple of times, I found myself a bit distracted on my way to church and running on autopilot. Unfortunately, my autopilot was set to go to work. As I passed the fork that would take me to church, I found myself going in the wrong direction for my desired destination. To go in the right direction, I had to turn around; I needed to repent (change direction).
Repentance always begins with humility. I had to recognize I was going in the wrong direction and be humble enough to admit my mistake before I could change direction. Without humility, I would have continued the wrong direction in ignorance. The bible says God resists the proud. Pride believes that I know better than God, and it is better if I am in control rather than submitting to Him. On the other hand, humility releases control, surrenders to God, and positions us in a place of repentance and restoration.
RETURN. Finally, Jesus tells them to do the first works; return to their first love. After we remember from where we have drifted and in humility repented, we must return. It would not have been enough for me to admit I missed my turn. I needed to turn around and proceed in the right direction. Taking the next exit on the freeway was a no brainer to turning around. But how does one return to their first love when they are already doing all the right things?
First, we must ask God for help. Doing all the right things did not stop us from drifting. So, it’s not what we do that keeps us from drifting, but where we place our vision. We are tempted to give up on doing the right things since they didn’t stop us from drifting away. That is not the answer, though. Could you imagine someone saying they would not tell their spouse that they love them because the checkbox approach had caused them to turn their eyes from their spouse? No, we must continue to do the things on our checklists but turn our eyes back to God. To do that, we need His help.
Second, we have to obey what He is saying to us. God may reveal attitudes that need tweaking, preoccupations, and possessions that compete for our attention meant for him, or any number of other adjustments that distract us from our first love. God will show us how to make the modifications necessary to return to Him, but He expects us to respond in obedience to the things He shows us.
Last, although this is more of remaining than returning, we must pay attention. We drift because we don’t pay attention. It’s easier to keep from drifting than it is to return from drifting away. And it’s easier to return when we have only drifted slightly than if we have drifted far. Paying attention to where our heart is will keep us from drifting away.
I encourage you to take a fresh look at your life to see if you have drifted. We have been through turbulent times these last many months, and turbulent waters cause drift to become accelerated. If you find you have drifted, whether slightly or far, God is calling you to remember, repent, and return.
