Are You Drifting?

In 1989, the University of Michigan played its conference rival Wisconsin in basketball. It was a close game, and Michigan trailed by a single point with only seconds left to go. That’s when Michigan’s fine guard Rumeal Robinson stepped to the foul line for two shots.

It was the scenario every player dreams about. Robinson had the opportunity to be a hero; he had the game in his hands. If he simply hit one foul shot, he could tie the game and send it into overtime. If he put both shots through the net, his team would have an exciting win.

Robinson missed the first shot. Then he missed the second. Wisconsin’s players ran off the course shouting with joy—they’d upset the heavily favored Michigan Wolverines. And Rumeal Robinson, the All-American guard, was left standing at the line, hanging his head. He had failed, and in something so simple and fundamental.

Robinson felt great sorrow over that game. He had hit thousands of foul shots over the years, on his way to becoming one of the best shooting guards in America. Growing up, he’d stood under the hoop for hours until he sent shot after shot through the net, without even touching the rim. Why had he missed these two?

Some athletes never recover from the failure of a big game, but Robinson put his disappointment into action. He showed up at the next practice, played hard, then remained afterward to shoot one hundred foul shots all by himself. For the rest of the season, that was his daily regimen—one hundred extra foul shots every practice. And the day came, at the end of that season, when Rumeal Robinson found himself standing at the foul line again. This time there were three seconds remaining in overtime in the national championship game against Seton Hall. Both shots fell easily through the net. Michigan had won the NCAA crown.

Today, no one remembers Robinson’s two missed shots again Wisconsin early in the season. But every Wolverine fan remembers the two shots that won the championship. It all happened because Rumeal Robinson felt his failure deeply enough to return to the fundamentals—the things he did when he first loved basketball.

Back to the Basics

Jesus gives the church at Ephesus a report card. He tells them they’ve been working hard and He appreciates that. They’ve been faithful over a long period. They’ve been discerning and intolerant of false apostles. There are so many things they’ve done right.

But their poor grade falls under the category of love. The Ephesians have lost their first love for God and then, as a result, for each other. Jesus then gives three assignments to pull up their grade. Remember. Repent. Repeat.

The first of these, remembrance, is the work of the mind. If our hearts have grown cold, we must rely upon our minds. We may stop feeling, but we never stop thinking. So the mind is the best place to stir up the embers that will warm our hearts once again.

Then, as we remember, we get the perspective—a shock of understanding of the height from which we have fallen. That, my friend, will engage the emotions. We will feel deep sorrow. Paul once sent a letter of rebuke to the Corinthians. Later he said:

I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not

harmed in any way by us.  Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

-1 Corinthians 7: 9 – 10 NIV

When you hurt deeply for realizing that the love has gone out of your faith, that’s godly sorrow. It’s the “good ache” we’ve already discussed. The right kind of sorrow is good because it leads us to the right kind of joy. This is when repentance occurs. As Rumeal Robinson understood, sorrow is only worthwhile if it leads us to change our ways.

So we see, through the eyes of our memories, how far we’ve fallen. We’re devastated by remorse—the mind has engaged the heart, and the heart will engage the soul. That’s called repentance. It only remains, as we’ll see, for the hands to become busy. This is the third directive: “Work as you did at first,” Jesus tells the Ephesians (Revelation 2:5c). In other words, go back to the basics.

Notice that He doesn’t say this to a lazy, inactive group of people. The first thing Jesus mentioned was their vigorous activity. “I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance,” He told them (Revelation 2:2). But the work has become empty. It has become like a loveless marriage, with all the routine but none of the romance.

I believe this point confuses many believers. It seems to them that they’re serving God with energy and faithfulness, and so they are—just like Martha. What they’ve failed to confront is the issue of first love, because they’re so busy doing all the right things. They go to church. They read their Bibles. They offer a cup of cold water. Isn’t that the same as love? Didn’t Jesus identify love with obedience? The answer is yes. We do serve our Lord because we love Him—we’ve just lost the joy and the intimacy of Christ Himself. We’ve become so busy cleaning the room that we’ve neglected to sit at His feet.

In struggling marriages, both spouses tend to insist they do still love each other. They still go through the motions and keep the marriage together. They do all the right things, even giving each other gifts at Christmas and birthdays. What they’ve lost is the joy and the intimacy. When that happens, service can no longer bring pleasure. Jesus wants us to see that. He would have us shift our focus from the lifeless things we’re doing now to the loving things we did in the beginning.

“Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”      —Matthew 22:37

The plan of Jesus, as we would expect, is a perfect one. It uses mind, heart, soul and strength—everything about us—to bring us back into His presence. He wants all of us, so that we may experience all of Him. It’s no coincidence that Jesus said the greatest commandment was this one: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, allyour mind, and all your strength.” (Mark 12:29, emphasis added).

We should stop right here to notice that He taught us that the second commandment followed from the first one naturally: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 31). Notice again that Jesus said to the Ephesians, “You don’t love me or each otheras you did at first” (Revelation 2:4, emphasis added). Love of people is the overflow that comes from love of God. There is absolutely no way you can love the Lord with all your mind, heart, soul, and strength, and not have that love overflow into your other relationships. It works in both directions, too; when you lose the joy of Him, you’ll also begin to lose the joy of people.

Where are you today in that regard? Are you in a state of loving unity with the people important to you? If you’re struggling with relationships in your family, in your work, or in your established friendships, the first place you should check is how you’re getting along with God.

This is true because we love God (or drift away from God) with every part of us—mind, heart, soul, and strength. When Jesus spoke with His disciples in His most intimate teaching, in the Upper Room, He called it abiding or remaining in Him “Remain in me, and I will remain in you,” He tells us. “For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful apart from me.” (John 15:4).

This is the deepest meaning of maintaining your first love. As you remain in Him with every part of your being, you’re as fully dependent upon Him as a branch is upon a tree or vine. If you remain, you grow healthier and begin to bear fruit. Your relationships become richer. Your work becomes more excellent. And others come to know the Lord because they see the evidence of God in you.

If you drift away from God, however, you become little more than a broken branch. You can produce no fruit then. You’ll become dry and lifeless.

That’s why, at this point in your journey, it’s important to “work as you did at first.” When your heart has changed toward God, and you’ve repented of the sin you discovered in your life, you’re going to catch a second wind for serving Him. You’ll serve Him with new joy and dedication. You’ll go back to the basics.

By Bill Bright

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