Lost in The Father's House

When you hear the word drift, what do you think of? When I think of drifting, I think about being in the water on a nice summer day where the sun is just right, in a floaty, with my eyes closed, just chilling. Then I open my eyes and look up, and I’m in a completely different space than where I started, not because I intentionally moved somewhere but because I just allowed the waves or the circumstances to carry me. Drifting is defined as being carried slowly by a current of air or water, or to flow and carelessly pass. So it’s a movement! A lot of times we like to believe we are stagnant, but the truth is we’re either moving toward God or away from him. And sometimes drifting looks like faithfulness.

You're probably thinking, “I know I’m not drifting from God. I go to church every Sunday, serve in the ministry, attend all Bible studies and all the prayer calls, and pay my tithes.” We can get lost in works that we do to get closer to God, and those works can be the very thing to usher us away from Him.

In Luke 15, beginning at verse 11, we meet two sons who had both drifted and were lost, just in different ways. The younger brother left home, chasing what he thought would satisfy him. The older brother stayed, obeyed the rules, and remained close to his father. When his younger brother returned home and was celebrated, the older brother’s heart was exposed.

In Luke 15:29, the older brother says, “All these years I've been slaving for you…”

Slaving? He was a son, not a slave. But somewhere along the way, he began to see his service to his father as a responsibility rather than a relationship. He knew his father’s expectations, but didn't really know his father’s heart! We can be faithful to the things of God without truly trusting the heart of God.

Sometimes, our obedience is less about love and more about what we hope to receive in return. Like earlier, we think, God, I prayed. I served. I did everything right. So where is my answer? Where is my breakthrough? Where is my celebration? But obedience motivated by an expected outcome isn't the same as trust rooted in relationship. It's a transactional faith. We do our part, and we expect Him to do His (even though Jesus already died and rose for us, that's not enough when we're in our feelings).

Look at what the father tells the older brother in Luke 15:31: “My son, you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.” The older brother was waiting for a celebration, not realizing he already had access to his father. He was so focused on what he hadn't received that he overlooked what had been available this whole time. How often do we do that? We keep asking God for another sign, another confirmation, another word, when He may be inviting us to trust what He's already spoken.

So yes, the younger brother needed to discover the Father's mercy, but we can't forget the older brother who needed to discover the Father's heart. One had to return home physically, and the other had to recognize how far his heart had drifted while he stayed. One thought he had to earn his way back. The other thought he had to earn what was already his. The father wanted a relationship with both of them.

So, maybe the question isn't simply whether we're staying or walking away. Maybe it's whether we're actually getting to know the Father while we're here.

Because sometimes, the greatest danger isn't walking away from the Father. It's staying close enough to look faithful while our hearts slowly drift away from Him. May we never become so committed to doing things for the Father that we forget to know the Father Himself.