The Comfortable Drift

Aug 2 2022 - Eric Buresh

I’m looking out the window on a rainy afternoon, watching water rush from a little pond into a stream. I’m pondering how it is that I so easily drift away from my Treasure and toward destruction. Drifting always seems so peaceful, so quiet, so easy and then I’m in danger, wondering how I got there so quickly.

Since I was a little kid, I’ve always loved stories. I now know we can call them allegories and narratives. Stories are how my mind makes sense of things. If I can’t take a doctrine and put it into a story, I don’t understand the doctrine yet. I haven’t internalized the truth. That’s just me. It might have something to do with the fact that I loved Pilgrim’s Progress. If you have kids and haven’t read that book with them . . . you’re missing an amazing opportunity. The following narrative is inspired by Bunyan and what he penned so many years ago.

There once was a young man named Me. Me loved to relax. He enjoyed being comfortable and entertained. In fact, Me chose his entertainment so that it was comfortable. Don’t get me wrong. Me liked to think about things that other people were talking about. It was fun to engage. He loved to have his opinions, but Me really didn’t want to put too much effort into research. It was better to just listen to someone else. Same with reading. Me loved to read, but reading was relaxation. If a book demanded too much mental taxation, it was better to move on. After all, John Grisham always had a new book on the bestseller list.

Me knew about God. He’d said the prayer that he was told to say to keep him out of the distinctly uncomfortable possibility of hell. Me even went to church a couple times a month. It wasn’t always the same church of course. Sometimes one church was on with their music – it was concert quality. Sometimes a pastor that really made Me laugh was preaching. So, Me “belonged” to several churches. He had also crossed several off the list where the pastor mettled a little too much in Me’s business.

One afternoon, Me decided to go on a float trip. He’d never done this before and didn’t know the area all that much. Me got a nice inflatable raft, put on some sunscreen, took plenty of snacks and beverages, his AirPods and a fun novel. He set out on the river. Once in the middle, Me laid back and opened his book. He read for a couple of hours. The weather was perfect, and he just gently floated along, reading, and having the occasional snack. Now comfortable that his raft would float along on its own in the middle of the current, Me put in his AirPods, cranked up his favorite band, and closed his eyes.

Me was so relaxed. Everything was perfect. He never saw the warning signs. The words were invisible behind Me’s closed eyes. On the right bank of the river, there was a ramp to get boats out of the river. It led up to the most beautifully lush green grass. It looked like a perfect pasture out of the horse country of Kentucky. Standing on the bank was a Man that loved Me very much. The Man was calling and waving His arms trying to get Me to pay attention. Me couldn’t hear Him over his entertainment. Me just kept drifting along.

The rowing required to reach the ramp where the Man that loved Me stood would have been easy. The burden to get there was light. But Me didn’t hear. He didn’t see. Me was so relaxed. So comfortable. It was a perfect day. Me didn’t see the danger until it was too late. The river was diverted into tunnels. As water approached, it sped up and was sucked down in a spiral. Water made it through. Rafts did not.

Life is like a river with a gentle current slowly drifting toward destruction. That is the natural pull of things. Life is not neutral. Drifting, while ever so tempting, is not the path of life.  

Hebrews was written to Me. Me gave himself over to the pursuit of comfort and relaxation and had “become dull of hearing.” (Heb. 5:11) He ignored warnings and “drifted away” from what he knew. (Heb. 2:1)  

Hebrews not only warns, it gives the solution, repeatedly. “We must give all the more careful attention to the things we have heard” about Jesus. (Heb. 2:1). Put simply, PAY ATTENTION! Listen carefully to the Word of God. Every day. Don’t be lethargic or nonchalant. Don’t let the drift start because your flesh will be drawn into drifting more and more. At least, that is how my flesh works against me. Don’t give in to the lie that what we call “me time” is really satisfying. Or, make “me time” truly satisfying by “wasting” it at the fountain of living water. I long to “waste” my life studying God’s Word. It’s what gives me life and peace and joy. When I’m listening to the Word, I then enjoy everything else so much more as good gifts from my Father. Those other things are never the end or the source. They are not gods unto themselves. They are merely gifts from Him that He wants me to enjoy, and when they are gone, I have lost nothing because I have the Source of all good right here, always with me.

When you search the Word, Hebrews gives us an even finer target. Hebrews 3:1 tells us to “CONSIDER JESUS!” Hebrews 12:1-2 implores us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, LOOKING TO JESUS!” If you want to avoid drifting, consider Jesus -- look at Jesus -- all the time. There is literally no end to the glories to consider. He is beautiful in every way imaginable. We could spend our entire lives making a list of things that are praiseworthy, thank worthy, and just downright amazing about our Lord, and we wouldn’t even scratch the surface. Look at Jesus. Stay focused. Make everything about Him, from Him, or for Him. Then you will not drift like Me.