People drift away from God for different kinds of reasons. American evangelist Billy Graham has become familiar with all these reasons in all his years of preaching the Gospel. However, he is certain that God still loves even those who drift away from Him.

More often than not, Graham has noticed that people distance themselves from God because they have become too preoccupied with other things. Sometimes it's simply because people are trapped by their own sins and way of living and they refuse to give it up.

"I often think of one of Jesus' parables in this connection," he shares in an article written for the Kansas City Star. The parable can be found in the Bible verses Luke 8:4 to 15. "In it Jesus told about a farmer who sowed seed in his field, hoping it would grow and mature. Some seed landed on good soil and produced a bountiful crop, but other seed didn't; it fell on hard or rocky ground where it couldn't grow. Still other seed landed among thorns, and for a time it sprouted and looked like it might prosper. But the fragile plants didn't last; the thorns overcame them."

This is the same thing that can happen to people if they insist on living their lives without God, Graham says. And even though people hear God's word and it starts to take root in their souls, over time it gets "smothered" by other things.

This is what Luke 8:14 says: "As they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature."

"Perhaps this is what has happened to you," says Graham.

"But listen: God still loves you, and he wants to forgive you and welcome you into his family. Don't look back at the end of your life and realise you missed all that God had for you. Instead, turn to Christ and confess your sins and your need of him today. He wants to welcome you home."