Happy Sabbath, friends!

In honor of the first day of fall taking place this past week, a message was placed on my heart about what happens when we fall away from God.

Sometimes people drift from Christ slowly, not all at once. Our prayer life gets quieter, Scripture gets pushed aside, conviction gets ignored, church becomes less important, and before long, we realize we have become farther from God than we ever intended to be.

Much like the leaves during the fall season, we too can change, wither, and eventually become disconnected from the source that gives us life.

A leaf may slowly lose its color before eventually falling from the tree. Once disconnected, it is carried wherever the wind takes it because it is no longer grounded by the tree that once sustained it.

Spiritually, the same thing can happen to us.

When we become disconnected from Christ, we lose sight of the One who gives us strength, direction, and life.

John 15:5 (NIV)
““I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

When We Begin To Drift

There are many things that can lead us to drift away from Christ.

It can be distraction, compromise, busyness, disappointment, sin, or simply neglect.

Some things happen suddenly, while others happen so gradually that we may not immediately recognize the effect they are having on our spiritual walk.

That is why remaining connected to Christ is so important — even when it is difficult.

The more time we spend with Him through prayer, Scripture, worship, and simply allowing Him into our everyday lives, the more sensitive we become to His guidance.

But when we continually ignore His voice or allow other things to become louder than Him, we may begin drifting without even realizing how far we have gone.

Still, just because we have drifted does not mean we cannot return.

Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)
“We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.”

Where Is Your Seed Planted?

Jesus gives us another picture of spiritual growth through the parable of the sower.

Mark 4:15–20 (NIV)
“Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.””

I love this parable because it forces us to reflect on our own relationship with God.

Where is your seed planted?

What is your foundation placed upon?

Is your seed along the path? Is it in rocky places? Is it surrounded by thorns? Or is it planted in good soil where it can grow and produce fruit?

Just as we can examine the soil surrounding a seed, we can also look at the condition of our own spiritual lives.

Going back to the image of the leaves, we can ask ourselves:

Are we becoming a falling, withering leaf that is slowly disconnecting from its source of life?

Or are we thriving because we remain connected to the branches that sustain us?

Sometimes we may not like the answer.

But recognizing where we are is often the first step toward returning to where God wants us to be.

Turn Around

Even if you have drifted far away or realize that your seed has not been planted in good soil, it is not too late.

You are never beyond the reach of our Heavenly Father.

There can come a moment when the Holy Spirit convicts us and allows us to recognize the distance that has developed between ourselves and Christ.

What matters is what we choose to do with that conviction.

We can continue drifting, or we can turn around.

James 4:8 (NIV)
“Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Joel 2:12–13 (NIV)
““Even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.”

God has not forgotten us during the seasons when we wander.

He continues calling us back.

The question is whether we are willing to respond.

Made New

When we choose to leave our old, withering ways behind and return to Christ, He offers something greater than simply returning us to where we once were.

He makes us new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”

Our past does not have to determine our future.

The mistakes we made while we were drifting do not have to become our identity.

In Christ, there is forgiveness, restoration, growth, and an opportunity to walk differently than we did before.

A season of falling away does not have to become the end of our story.

It can become the place where we finally realize just how desperately we need Jesus.

Return To Your First Love

Jesus is our first love.

God is love, and His love for us began long before we ever knew how to love Him in return.

If you are experiencing conviction today — whether it feels big or small — perhaps it is an invitation to examine where you currently stand with Christ.

Revelation 2:4–5 (NIV)
“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”

Maybe prayer has become distant.

Maybe your Bible has remained closed longer than you intended.

Maybe you have allowed something else to take the place Christ once held in your life.

Or maybe you cannot even pinpoint when the drifting began — you simply know that something feels different.

Wherever you are, the invitation remains the same:

Return.

The Way Back Is Still Open

Just because you have fallen away does not mean you have fallen beyond the reach of grace.

No matter how far you may feel from Christ, you are not beyond His ability to restore you.

Jesus is not asking us to pretend we never drifted.

He is asking us to turn around and come back to Him.

If this message has spoken to you in some way today, know that your sins and mistakes are not too much for Jesus to handle.

He desires a relationship with you.

He has not abandoned you during the time you have spent wandering. His love has remained, and His invitation is still being extended.

At the end of the day, we each have a decision to make after we recognize that we have fallen away.

Will we continue allowing ourselves to drift wherever the wind takes us?

Or will we turn around, reconnect ourselves to the One who gives us life, and walk toward Jesus and His Heavenly Kingdom?

John 6:37 (NIV)
“All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.”

You may have fallen.

But you can still come home.

Amen.