Hebrews 2: Drifting Away & a reminder of God's grace

1 We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away

11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.[g] 12 He says, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.”[h]

14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16 For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham’s descendants. 17 For this reason he had to be made like them,[k] fully human in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Without a doubt, this is a very packed passage. One could dissect it thoroughly and hardly come to understand it fully. The author starts by giving a word of warning to listen to the word of God that is about to be spoken. Hebrews 2:1 makes it clear that failing to listen to it may cause us to drift away (what does drifting away mean?). Then the author suggests that God made himself human, vindicating his place in heaven for a little bit, so that he could himself be sacrificed and suffer on our behalf. He shared our humanity to reach out to us. The author also demonstrates a shout of jubilee by declaring that Jesus welcomes everyone to his family, and they will rejoice at the sight of welcoming each other.

Application
I personally felt like the first first hit me right away. Earlier I posed the question, "what does drifting away mean?" I believe it has a very deep meaning. There are many ways we drift away from God's presence. We seek other gods; we doubt God's power and salvation; and we feel discouraged, essentially demeaning God's sovereignty in our lives. Stop and remember that God is God, and he has given us the ultimate act of grace. Don't forget that because as soon as we do, we stray away from God.

In addition, God knows we are going to be tempted. Satan has an uncanny ability to tempt us. His most powerful weapon is making us believe that God will save us anyway, so we don't have to worry about following God today... "just take it easy and do it tomorrow, have your sinful fun today," Satan would probably say in a more sweet way. I personally struggle with this a lot as I feel easily tempted and find myself brushing God aside. Hebrews 2 was a wake up call.

Prayer:
God, may I remember the good things you have done for me and your immense power. May I shout for joy and share your salvation. Give me strength to strive for a Christ like attitude and not heed to the lies of the devil, but with unshaken faith abide in you. Temptation has lost its sting. Praise you Lord.