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Charles Spurgeon preached a sermon titled simply “John & Herod “. (Sorry – no link. Geoff told me how, but I don’t have the patience to mess with it quite yet.) In it, Spurgeon teases out an aspect of the biblical story that I had never considered. Specifically, in looking at King Herod’s life up to the point of John’s murder, he had been a pretty good guy. After all, he feared (i.e. respected) John. He listened to what John had to say. And against all Roman wisdom, he kept John alive even after John publicly berated the King. As Spurgeon constantly refrained “So far, so good”.

Biblical history, of course, is not too kind to King Herod after this point. He does murder John. He mocks Jesus. And although I don’t have a Biblical commentary handy, I’m pretty sure he later gets eaten alive by worms. A rather grotesque ending for a “pretty decent guy”.

And that’s the point. Or at least that’s Spurgeon’s point. Herod hadn’t made a firm commitment to follow what John taught, let alone to follow John’s Savior, and so the path from ambivalence to tyranny was a short one at best.

The danger, of course, is that ambivalence can seem so harmless. After all, “live and let live” is a pretty common refrain. And sometimes we think that being “a pretty decent guy” (or gal) is good enough.

Good enough usually isn’t. In this case, it wasn’t even close.

Listening to God is never an easy thing. Life purposes to distract us from the very thing that makes life worth living: an intimate and growing relationship with our Heavenly Father. The way of discipleship necessitates a commitment to active listening. For it is only through learning who the Father is, that we can follow after Him and make our feeble attempts to become more like Him every day.

Share time with Natalie began as a way to break free from my formulaic interactions. For a long time I’ve told people that my greatest strength and my greatest weakness is that I am a good listener. I listen so well that I never have to share about myself, something that causes me an irrational amount of displeasure. And I am a good listener. I ask questions, delve deep into stories and remember the smallest details from other people’s lives (I remember things about people I don’t even know – hence my fascination with celebrity gossip). The funny thing is, these disciplines that I so readily engage in when meeting other people, I rarely practice when spending time with God. How often have I asked God for further explanation? Do I ever repeat back what I think I’ve heard in order to emphasize that I am listening? Do I validate what He’s saying through a commitment to obedience? Or am I a passive learner; seeking only to hear His voice in the times when I need direction the most?

May this not be. May my life and my actions revel not only a growing knowledge about God, but a growing awareness of God. May I not only understand His character, but may I experience His compassion. May I not only feel His love, but may it so impress my heart that it radiates to those around me.