Why Drifting from Jesus is Easy (Hebrews 2)
Why does it seem that drifting is natural? Maybe because, as humans, it is, and it reveals our need for Jesus daily.
Hebrews 2
Today's Scripture Passage
A Few Thoughts to Consider
Why is it so easy to drift from Jesus?
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you’ve probably gone through a series of evolutions. When you’re a new believer, you often enter a high grace period. This might involve sudden deliverance from an addiction or an added sense of God’s presence in the mundane activities of life. But the longer you’re a child of God, the more this sense of intimacy might start to wane.
Some of this is natural because God is helping you understand what it means to walk by faith. But there is also a danger of drifting and abandoning your first love (Rev. 2.4). You start to take what Christ has done for granted and are in danger of shipwrecking your faith (1 Tim. 1:19). If this is where you’re at, Hebrews 2:1-4 offers this word of warning,
1 For this reason, we must pay attention all the more to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken through angels was legally binding and every transgression and disobedience received a just punishment, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation had its beginning when it was spoken of by the Lord, and it was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4 At the same time, God also testified by signs and wonders, various miracles, and distributions of gifts from the Holy Spirit according to his will.
A few points to note. First, as Gareth Cockerill writes, “We refers to the readers but also to all of us who have received God’s blessings in Christ.”[1] The Hebrews author is saying to his or her Jewish audience that drifting is natural even after understanding who Jesus is and what he has done.
Another key point to note: If you read Hebrews, you’ll notice there is a lot of talk about angels. Paul Ellingworth writes, “A clue to the place of angels in the structure of the argument is provided in Heb. 2:2, which, like Acts 7:53 and Gal. 3:19, refers to the tradition that angels acted as mediators when the Law was given to Moses.”[2]
According to Adam Clarke,
“The Jews had the highest opinion of the transcendent excellence of angels, they even associate them with God in the creation of the world, and suppose them to be of the privy council of the Most High; and thus they understand [Genesis 1:26]: ‘Let us make man in our own image, in our own likeness.’”[3]
This is a significant statement to understand as we go back to Genesis 12 and go through the rest of the First Testament. From Genesis through Malachi, we will notice a recurring theme. God calls his people out, shows them his power, and then they drift. And what the Hebrews author wants us to know is that we face this same danger today. Just as the children of Israel rejected God time after time, it’s possible for us to do the same. Apart from God’s grace, drifting is our natural default.
A Meditation to PRAY
Praise | I praise you for being God of mercy and grace. You keep reaching out, even when my heart starts to drift.
Release | I release my human tendency to drift away from you. Reveal areas I have begun to this.
Ask | Please forgive me and refresh my spirit with your love.
Yield | I give my desire to always have answers to you. I choose to walk by faith, even when my eyes cannot see what you are doing in my life.
A Challenge to Act Like Christ
If you don’t already, one of the best ways to avoid drifting is to keep a journal and write down how God is working through your life. It doesn’t have to be anything profound. You might just add a couple of sentences or paragraphs a day. But make a habit of writing down answers to prayer or times you’ve sensed God’s presence.
It might not seem like this is necessary, but it is. Inevitably, you will face what St. John of the Cross called “the dark night of the soul.” It might even happen as you’re working through this devotional. For an extended period of time, you might lose that sense of closeness to God you once felt. And in these moments, you’ll be tempted to drift. If your faith was built on an emotional experience, you’ll strive to return to what you think first gave you life.
But a better option is to lean into God’s Word and re-anchor yourself in the profound truths of who Christ is, what he has done, and what this means for your life today. Only as you do this will you avoid drifting.
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[1] Cockerill, Gareth L.. Hebrews: A Commentary for Bible Students (Wesleyan Bible Study Commentary) . Wesleyan Publishing House. Kindle Edition. Location 1071.
[2]Paul Ellingworth, The Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek Text, New International Greek Testament Commentary. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 104.
[3] Adam Clark Commentary
