Drift Away

John Adams wrote something in a 1798 message that is worth pondering
Adams wrote to the Officers of the First Brigade, 3rd Division, Militia of Massachusetts.
Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people.
It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.

I thought about that statement on my morning walk.

I have been seeing so many pictures of people venturing to the beach.
After a winter of hibernation, people are already going to warmer places.
Still a bit chilly, but they go in an effort to coax summer into coming a little quicker.
I am not a beach person, or a sun person, but time spent at the beach is special.

I was remembering sitting on the beach in my low beach chair, with my book, and my hat.
I was remembering watching my boys toss a football on the beach.
I can still see my girls collecting shells.
My eyes were focused on the five children that were in my care; the book a mere accessory.

My youngest daughter was drifting further from her brothers and sisters.
She was not drifting out to sea but rather she was being moved sideways to a new place.
She didn’t even realize it was happening since she was so busy jumping over the waves.
I kept my eyes on her the whole time.

Finally she looked up to see me in my chair and she couldn’t find me.
I saw the panic on her face.
I called her name and she turned.
She waved and ran in the water against the current to get back to our spot.

The current moved her down the beach a few feet from where she started.
And she never knew.
She never realized she was moving at all.
She looked up and panicked when she saw that she was far away from me.

I had not taken my eye off her for a second.
I had not lost sight of her even when she lost sight of me.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him. God also testified to it by signs, wonders, and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. (Hebrews 2:1-4)

How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?

Are you getting further and further from God?
Is the current of the world pulling you further and further away from Him?
Are you so busy jumping the waves and having fun, you never even notice?

All of a sudden you look up; you search for the familiar and it will be gone.
You are too far away to get back on your own.
You run awkwardly against the current to no avail.
And then you see Him.

He has never taken His eye off you for a second.
He has never lost sight of you even when you lost sight of Him.

Adams wrote that our Constitution is for a religious and moral people.
Biblical illiteracy permeates our culture.
Without absolutes, people set their own standards.
Everyone does as they see fit in their own eyes.

The problem is that eventually anarchy sets in.
You don’t realize how free you really are when you stay close to God’s Word.
You have been pulled far away from God by the worldly current.
You will one day look up and not see Him there.

He has never taken His eye off you for one second.
He remains faithful even when you are faithless.
He keeps the covenant when you keep breaking the covenant.
His love is that great; His love is that amazing.

…God’s kindness leads you to repentance. (Romans 2:4)

You are not to decide your own morality.
There is a standard upon which you are to base your truth.
Even saying there is no standard is really a standard in and of itself.
Even saying there are no absolutes is an absolute statement.

We are a deeply religious people.
Religious because we all believe in something.
The question is, What do you believe in?

Do you believe in a God of your own making?
That kind of God is no more than an idol.

Do you believe that there are many ways to God and many ways to heaven?
That belief will get you nowhere.

Do you believe that all your good works will someday earn your way into heaven?
Then you are lost.

For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus who gave Himself as a ransom for all men…(1 Timothy 2:5)

A saving faith in Jesus Christ is necessary.
Trusting in Him alone for your salvation is the only way.

We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. (Hebrews 2:1)

Drift away further and further as the worldly current pulls you from God.
You look up and in a panic you can’t find Him amid all the currents swirling around you.
He has not lost sight of you for one minute.
He calls the irrevocable call, the one from which you cannot turn away.

You see Him, maybe for the first time.
You hear His voice above the din of the world.
You run against the current to His arms.
You drift no more.
You are steady on the Rock that has been there all along.