I wonder . . . of those who have started to walk with Christ and then “rejected the faith”, how many of them decided to “reject the faith.” My gut tells me that rarely does it happen that someone, who has “tasted” and seen that the Lord is good, wake up one day and say to them self, “Self . . . from here on in, we’re going back to living like a pagan . . . from this moment on, we’re going to stop hanging out with God’s people . . . right now, I’m going to ignore God’s word. Yup, yesterday I was a follower of Christ, but today going forward, I’m going to follow me and this world.” Now, I could be wrong, but I don’t think that most often it happens that way. I’m thinking it’s far more subtle . . . this exhortation in Hebrews 2 sort of bears it out . . .

“Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” — Hebrews 2:1

Now I’m probably taking the warning a bit out of it’s “primary context” . . . as it seems aimed at a Jewish audience that has “kinda’ believed” but is wavering in their recognition of, and commitment to, Jesus as Messiah and the salvation offered through Him. The writer is contending for them as they teeter on the verge of “neglecting so great a salvation” (2:3). But, as a secondary application, I think this warning has a lot to speak into my life.

We must, the writer says, we absolutely have to . . . it’s crucial . . . non-optional . . . we must give earnest heed . . . that is, pay careful or closer attention to . . . the things we have heard . . . the truths we have been taught . . . the Scriptures that we have mined and which have spoken to us. Peterson interprets it like this in the MSG, “It’s crucial that we keep a firm grip on what we’ve heard.” How come? Lest we drift away.

That’s how I think most who have rejected the faith end up there . . . they drift away. That’s how I think most who just “play at Christianity” get there . . . they kind of drift into it. The truths become old and ho-hum . . . the pursuit of the things of God wanes . . . faithfulness to the body of Christ slips as other activities take priority . . . commitment to feeding on the Word is replaced by other “fun or interesting stuff”. Rarely, I think, do Christians aim to be “lukewarm” . . . they just drift away . . . and cool down . . . the flame becoming a pilot light and then a smoldering wick.

Apparently the word for “drift away” has the idea of letting something slip, letting it glide or pass by. One commentator I read says its a term used as a metaphor for a barrel that leaks because it’s staves aren’t close enough together or prepared properly and so the fluid put into them leaks through the chinks and crevices . . . thus suggesting an alternate translation, “Lest at any time we should leak out.”

Inattention . . . lack of pursuit . . . other priorities . . . and the joy of salvation . . . the abundant life promised . . . the pilgrimage to a city not of this world . . . it just kind of drifts away . . . slips by . . . leaks out. How sad . . . how tragic. It’s the seed that fell among thorns, the case where a person hears the Word and responds but “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matt:13:22) . . . and it leaks out . . . and he drifts away.

Oh, how I need to heed the warning . . . use it or lose it . . . water it or watch it wither . . . maintain it or it will break down . . . pursue it or you will pursue something else . . . be filled with it or you’ll find something else to be filled with . . . give the more earnest heed to the things we have have heard, lest we drift away.

By the grace of God, I want to be a possessor not a drifter. By the power of the Spirit of God, I want to pursue the kingdom of God lest it pass by me. This salvation wrought for me by the Son of God, I want to experience in all it’s fullness not find myself empty like a leaky vessel. All for the glory of God . . . amen.