“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” – Hebrews 2:1
In a sermon written 20 centuries ago, the writer of Hebrews identified a challenge that continues to plague Christ’s followers. We naturally drift away from what we know about God (His nature, character, promises, goodness, and great works), Jesus (His person and His work for us on the cross), the Holy Spirit (Who comforts, convicts, and transforms us), and the Bible. We hear but quickly forget. We know in our minds yet often fail to let that knowledge penetrate our hearts. We don’t mean to, we don’t plan to, but it happens. If we do nothing to reinforce what we’ve learned about God, we will drift away from it. The drift will be subtle but inexorable.
Our minds are like anchor-less boats on a moving river. Either we intentionally move upstream toward Christ or we inevitably drift downstream away from the truth. As the writer said, “We must pay closer attention to what we have heard.” How? By intentionally thinking about those things we’ve heard. By thinking them over in our minds, thinking about how to apply them to our lives, and then actually making that application. We must do what we’ve heard or we will also forget. We must also be regularly reading and studying the Bible and gathering for fellowship and worship with other believers if at all possible. These things help us hear and re-hear the things we’ve heard but drifted away from. These things stir our hearts to embrace the great truths of the faith and live them out.
The Scripture is clear – there are only two possible paths. Pay closer attention and move upstream toward Christ or drift downstream away from the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Which will you choose today?