It Sounds Good

Leviticus 13 Mark 6:1-29 Psalm 39 Proverbs 10:10

Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him. – Mark 6:20 TNIV

“I like this guy. Let’s listen to this for a while.” We were channel surfing on the radio for something that would agree with all three of us. Otherwise, it was going to be a long day of work. ‘This guy’ my partner wanted to listen to happened to be Chuck Swindoll, a popular radio minister. We listened to a number of Christian programs throughout the day. With each program, my partner got more and more pensive. He talked about how his mother used to take him to church and how he really needed to get back into going to church. We worked together for a couple of months that summer, listening to the Christian radio station everyday. At the end of the summer, he was still listening, but had yet to make a change.

Many of us like to hear about God’s love and truth. For some of us, that’s as far as it goes. My partner lamented the fact he did not know God better, and said that he wanted to know Him better, but at the end of the summer, he knew he could not continue to live life the way he wanted to in God’s presence. I hope we all will choose to do more than just listen before we find ourselves being pulled even farther away from God.

Father God, thank You for all the ways You’ve spoken to us in our lives. We want to do more than just listen, we want to respond to You. Help us to let go of the things that come between us so You can transform our lives. Amen.