So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it…what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus Himself and then delivered to us by those who heard Him speak?                                                              Hebrews 2:1, 3

In our media-saturated world, rarely does a week go by when we don’t hear of a celebrity, athlete, or public figure who has “taken a fall.” The connotation is clear. This person was cruising through a life of virtual purity when, out of nowhere, circumstances sent them careening off the path. In an instant they went from pedestal to puddle. We read the details and our first thought is along the lines of, “How could that have happened to him so quickly?”

But the reality is that rarely do we take a fall. Instead, we erode.

Years ago, I heard a pastor speak at a conference and he uttered a simple phrase that just hit me where I was. He said exactly what I shared above: People don’t usually take a moral plummet. It’s just that by the time their crisis of character becomes visible to everyone else, it looks like a fall. What really happens is that, ever so slowly, our human tendency is to drift away from the truth of God. In other words, we decide to take on life by ourselves, without the accountability of Christ or anyone else. So, we erode, just like a hillside void of healthy vegetation.

Maybe you’ve heard it described differently. Someone defines their struggles by saying, “I’m just not growing anymore. I’m stuck in the same place.” I’m not sure that’s possible. It would seem to me we’re either growing or we’re going the opposite direction. We flourish or diminish. There’s nothing in between.

If this sounds discouraging, the opposite should be true. The Good News of Christ is that He doesn’t expect perfection. All He asks is that we keep our eyes on Him and strive to be better. Like Dory says in the movie Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming.”

Let’s not ignore this great salvation that the writer of Hebrews mentions. Instead, let’s listen carefully to the truth, remaining focused and not drifting away from God’s love and gift of Christ. God won’t let us fall if we keep walking toward Him.