Every successful corporate body is guided by an overarching vision. This is true of businesses and churches. The vision becomes the measuring stick against which success is measured. Groups work very hard to craft a meaningful and compelling vision. But once the vision is established something else happens. It is called vision drift. Unless the vision is constantly revisited the group, over time, will drift off center and away from the vision.
All of us are subject to spiritual vision drift. As followers of Jesus our ultimate goal is to conform to his image. We want to become more and more like Christ. Jesus summed up this vision in Luke 10:27. "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'" This vision is worked out in the great commission. We are to invite people into a relationship with Jesus and then help them to grow in that relationship. In our heads we affirm this lofty vision, but in our everyday lives we live out something else.
Vision drift leads us off course to places we didn’t intend to go. We begin to believe that the real goal of the Christian life is to be happy and have all my needs met. We begin to glory in the gifts and talents that God has given us and forget about the giver. Instead of using these gifts for God’s glory, we use them to increase our status and influence. As a church we begin to measure our success by the size of our building and the number of people who attend our programs. The idea of inviting people to become genuine followers of Jesus is gently pushed into the shadows. There are many other ways that we experience spiritual vision drift. The important point is to recognize when it is happening and correct it.
Paul told the Galatians to do an honest self-evaluation. “Each one should test his own actions.” When I worked as a lab tech in the hospital one of the tests I had to run was blood gasses. It was a very important test and so the results needed to be accurate. In order to assure the accuracy of the results I had to calibrate the machine using a known standard. Once the standard was establish I could trust the results. God has given us an accurate standard against which we can test the actions of our life. It is found in the Bible. The Bible is like a spiritual X-ray machine that has the power to reveal what is below the surface. It takes courage to submit ourselves to the revealing power of God’s Word. God doesn’t put spin on our reality to make it more positive. God holds up the X-ray and shows us exactly what is there.
In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 Paul writes to his young apprentice about the power of God’s Word. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” Our lives are not measured against what others are doing. Our lives are measured against the ultimate standard of God. The Bible is not just another book of wisdom and knowledge. The Bible contains, reveals, and unlocks the life of God. We cannot experience a significant relationship with God without the Bible. The Bible teaches us what it really means to be a follower of Jesus. It reveals to us the sin and rebellion that are so deeply imbedded in our lives. It shows us how to turn away from sin and toward God. It gives us the tools to live truly godly lives.
We all need to conduct regular self-exams to guard against spiritual drift. This is more than just a five minute scripture reading on our way out of the door. If we want to stay on course we need to spend time absorbing God’s word. Then we need to let God’s word shape our thoughts and our actions. When our thoughts and actions come into conflict with God’s Word we need to have the courage to face reality. Failing to face reality will have serious consequences.
There is great freedom in having an accurate view of ourselves. Comparing ourselves to others can become a very confining experience. The 1981 movie Chariots of Fire is the true story of two British track athletes, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. Both were selected to run for Great Britain in the 1924 Summer Olympics. Liddell was a committed Christian and ran for the glory of God. He had once remarked to his sister, “God has made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.” Abrahams was obsessed with being the very best. His life was nothing if he was not better than the best in the world. Both men won gold medals in their individual races at the Olympics. Liddell was able to celebrate his victory and move on. Abrahams was undone by his victory. His whole life was wrapped up in winning the gold medal. Once he had achieved that goal he felt hollow.
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