A license to drift?

Gareth Southgate was interviewed about his latest inclusion in the England squad, James Maddison, who was making his debut against Ukraine. Talking about his flexibility and many skills on the pitch, he said he had granted him a ‘license to drift’, meaning, I suppose, that he was free to move wherever he wanted, wherever he felt he could best be used.

This morning, my Bible literally fell open at Hebrews 2 verse 1 ‘We must pay more attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.’

The author of Hebrews calls his readers to pay attention to the truth they had heard so that they wouldn’t drift away into false teachings. Paying careful attention is hard work. It involves focusing our minds, bodies and senses. 

Listening to Jesus means not merely hearing, but also obeying. We must listen carefully and be ready to carry out his instructions. Drifting away is so easy. We may not even notice that we are gently being taken, like a piece of driftwood on a water current, out into danger. Suddenly we may open our eyes to find we are way out of our depth. Unlike  Maddison we don’t have a license to drift.