“Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”
Hebrews 2:1 ESV
Our family loved the times we picnicked on the shore of Lake Waxahachie (TX) and later drifted in inflated inner tubes in its warm waters. We laughed for years about the time Momma began screaming, then leaped from her inner tube with a crawdad firmly attached to her rear end! (crawdad = crayfish or crawfish) Daddy had difficulty loosening its pincher claws because he was laughing so hard.
The time I remember most clearly is altogether different. No laughing was involved. My Uncle Kern had a ski boat, and there was not much that my daddy enjoyed more than water skiing. So when work schedules aligned, Uncle Kern would invite our family to join his family on a trip to the lake for a picnic, a ride in his boat, and a ski outing for the dads.
We—Daddy, Uncle Kern, my cousin Mike, sister Shellye, and me—had completed a fantastic, splashy ride in the boat while Momma and Aunt Colleen played on the shore with two of the sweetest babies ever—Becky and Susie. It was a perfect day.
We were in a part of the lake with a weeded shoreline when my dad and uncle decided it was the ideal location for skiing. Rather than drive the boat back to our picnic area, the dads dropped us kids several hundred feet offshore to play in the water—tightly cinched in our life jackets—while they skied for a while. They stayed close enough to see us, and we could watch them perform.
We all thought it was a great idea…until as they drove away, my ever-the-tease uncle said, “Don’t drift into those weeds along the shore—that’s where the water moccasins live.” With that, he hit the gas, and the boat sped off, towing my daddy behind.
WAIT! WHAT?? WATER MOCCASINS??!
Suddenly, water play turned into panicked survival mode. If we didn’t fight the gentle pull of the tide towards the shore, we were sure we would drift directly into the mouth of a venomous water moccasin (aka cottonmouth).
There was no water play or watching the dads’ skiing antics. We fixed our eyes on the shoreline. We did not want to drift into the dangerous “water moccasin zone.” Our fear kept us actively on alert. The flailing arms and frantically paddling feet didn’t stop until the boat returned to pick us up.
Looking back, I’m sure there was no real danger because Daddy (or Uncle Kern) would never have left us floating if there was. However, that thought did not occur to me at the time.
The word “drift” is interesting. It carries the connotation of carelessness, a thoughtless slipping away, and the idea of being swept along or carried away without notice, agreement, or awareness. Vine’s Expository Dictionary says it is “to flow past, glide by…without giving due heed.”
When fully aware of your circumstances, drifting can be enjoyable and relaxing. Then, there are other times when mindless drifting is irresponsible and dangerous.
This is especially true in our faith walk and relationship with God.
Our faith walk cannot be one of drifting thoughtlessly through life. It demands awareness, intentionality, strong arms, and determined paddling to keep us from drifting away from the Truth.
As believers, we face a nonstop pull—an undertow—that wants nothing more than to drag us under or pull us into a metaphorical nest of water moccasins. The call to drift comes from the poisonous vipers of sin, self, and Satan that want to steal the fullness of life and the testimony of Truth that is ours in Christ Jesus.
In Paul’s final farewell message to the church elders in Ephesus, he warns them to be careful, pay attention, and be alert because false teachers will come “speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples” and not only the disciples but the elders, themselves. (Acts 20:27-31)
Paul is telling the elders to beware of drift. When The Church and believers are under constant attack or threat of attack—no matter how subtle or benign the assault may seem—we cannot be caught drifting mindlessly.
Drifter Beware!
Towards the end of his letter to the Ephesians (Ephesians 6:10-20), Paul reminds the Ephesians to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.” He tells them the attacks are not only by men or life’s circumstances. Satan and his forces are relentlessly waging battle against Christians. Paul then tells the Ephesians to suit up in the armor of God – be prepared for battle at all times.
Friend, we are to stand ready and alert at all times so we can stand firm in the face of evil when the inevitable attacks come—whether the strike is an all-out frontal attack or a subtle pull toward a poisonous nest of vipers.
We cannot be drifters regarding matters of the heart, mind, and spirit.
Drifting is deceptively subtle. It becomes a comfortable rhythm that rocks us to sleep. We wake up to find that we’ve entered dangerous territory.
Do you find yourself drifting? Shake yourself awake and paddle as fast as you can to safe shores.
“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away…and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” – 2 Peter 3:17-18 ESV