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More Random
Thoughts From This Disciple |
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A Reflection on Trust One of the highlights of my
college physical education class (yes, there can be highlights in physical
education) was watching my ballroom dance instructor and his partner take up
the dance floor. Just as moral seemed
to wear thin as was the skin on the tops of our feet also wearing thin, this
70 year old gentleman would grab his 18 year old professional dance partner
and sweep across the floor. The pair
was absolutely graceful and beautiful.
There was a reason that they had won so many national dance tournaments,
despite the obvious age disparity.
They were absolutely in tune with each other; in rhythm with each
other; in sync to the minutest detail.
Dancing could be grand for us too, as long as we could keep our feet
off of each other's and as long as one thing was remembered. But, more on that one thing
later. Previous to this dance course
my only experience in dancing was at Jr. High dances where no one actually
danced
except brave
girls who danced together in a group, Sr. High dances where the two step and
the occasional head bang were the only known dance moves, and of course
college where dancing was wild and free and anything but graceful. In each of these cases, people who were
multidirectionally progressionally challenged, (the nice way of saying, we
stunk at dancing) would look...stare even...at those who seemed to be able to
do something. Most of the time the
people I stared at would be doing a combination of wild, erratic moves that
often left their partner in the dust, but at least they looked good. Very good, in fact. And that's what I thought dancing was all
about. Being so good that you can
easily leave others in the dust; drawing all the attention onto yourself. Being so good that others might stare at
you and imitate you and immortalize you in their minds as the lord of the
dance. But, this type of dancing
lacks one important feature. The
feature that I will tell about in just a moment. First, I need to say that our
spiritual lives are often much like this; a confused part of our self that looks
around for good examples to imitate.
Of course, those who stand out in this department are the ones whom
the eye falls on quickly. Spiritual
dancers who seem to have it all together.
They dance as if they own the floor.
They act out of a conviction that seems to set them apart. They are individuals who seem to be in
control of every move and who never seem to falter even when dancing on
gravel or glass. Their lives look so
good and put together that we just want to be like them. We want put together lives like them,
lives that aren't dependent on parents or burdensome on children and friends
or confused; in other words, lives that are spiritually successful. These people do look good. Great even. Our eyes are drawn immediately to them. Yet, they lack one thing spiritually. It's the same thing that the dancers
lack. The thing I've been promising
you. And it's sad really; that they
lack this one thing. They could truly
be graceful dancers if they knew this one thing. But, it's a hard thing to accept. It's the thing that separates those who are conformed to the
world and those who have been transformed by the Holy Spirit. In the world of dancing, graceful
dancing can only be achieved when the partner feels safe enough to fall. You heard me right: "fall." F…A…L…L.
You see, the appropriate position for the partner is not a straight
upright "I can do
this all
myself thank you very much" position. If the partner
takes an upright position, it is entirely possible and probably that they
will try to lead; thus ruining the possibility that the pair will ever be
graceful. Instead, the partner needs
to lean back into the hand of the other.
Continually falling backwards throughout the entire dance…trusting
that the other will never drop or lead astray. If one falls back against the hand of the lead; when the lead
wants to move forward; you will fall that way. When the lead wants to move backward; you will be pulled in
that direction. In order for
gracefulness to show, faith and trust needs to be put in the lead; that the
lead will construct a graceful dance.
In the outside world, dancing is
all about being in control…being self-reliant…being the center of attention
and the desire of everyone's souls.
In the world of great dance (the waltz, the jitterbug, the swing, the
tango, etc.) dancing is about falling backwards slightly and trusting. "Do
not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and
acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2)."
Do not be conformed to this notion of self-reliance, this
self-idolatry. What good are you if
you have mastered everything in the world, but don't know the will of the one
who created it? Only when you can
lean back can you feel the movement of the Spirit, allowing you to fall this
way and tugging you to go that. Only
when you trust and lean back can you get the feel of God's hand and truly
learn where God is leading. And only
when you take the chance of falling will your pair look truly graceful. Of course, God has always been
there to accept you as a partner, no matter how you've been dressed or how
well you have danced in the past.
Those things are all forgiven through Christ. Now, it is time to trust that you are
acceptable enough to be God's partner and dance. I have to point out to the guys that in God's dance, we all
take the women's position. Maybe
that's why faith is so hard for guys some time. We like control. We
don't want to be led. All I can say
to you is: fall back. Now, it might be that you and God
are doing a wonderful tango together.
In fact, you are starting to look great at the tango. But, here's where the second pitfall of
spiritual dancing raises its ugly face.
Suddenly we get this idea that since we are dancing a tango with God
so well, everyone else should be doing the tango also. Now, we may sense that a particular
someone may be predisposed to tangoing with God, and there is nothing wrong
with teaching them how to follow in the tango. But, the problem comes when we see others doing the waltz and
you think, "what a stupid dance, they should raise their excitement
level and do the tango." Well
excuse me but, perhaps God created them to be boring. Look at me. I'm an incredibly boring person, yet I am here and God is using
me. Yet, it is after that one simple
thought, that we have transformed God's beautiful dance floor with much to
look at and appreciate, into “my” dance floor, with “me” as the master of
ceremony. It is so hard not to be
conformed to the world. Don't do
it. Don't try to control. Just lean back, look around, and start to
appreciate all of the different dances that make the whole floor look
beautiful. Always remember that our
spiritual dance is not about attracting followers to ourselves, but teaching
others how to follow…how to lean back and trust in God's movements. A good thing to ask yourself every
once and a while is, "What do I do for God and the church and what don't
I do." When you ask this
question, you begin
to
see that not everyone can be like you and dance like you do. Nor should they. God has a dance for them that is graceful and grace-filled in
its own right…a dance that you have no idea how to even comprehend…unless you
were in their place and leaning back.
Which you aren't. When you
ask, "What do I do for God and the church and what don't I do," you
will get an appreciation for the bigger picture, for the greater dance
floor. "For as in one body we
have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who
are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the
grace given to us" (Romans 12:4-6). Lean back and dance. |
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