Dancing

You could take what I know about partner dancing, place it in a shot glass, then have room in the glass for enough liquor to keep you from driving home legally.  And, to quote Garth Brooks, I blame it all on my roots.  I am a Baptist Preacher’s kid and I could count my attempts at two-stepping on one hand. I find stepping forward only to reverse my progress into a crowd of strangers most annoying.  I am constantly critiquing the direction choice of my partner, my muscles are screaming to go forward and not back, my feet hurt, I am suffering personal embarrassment over my inabilities, and for the life of me I cannot figure out how to make those steps match the beat of the music.   All I can think is, “when will this song be over?”.  

There is always some poor soul that wants to teach me to like dancing and this is what he or she will say:

1. Relax and trust your partner.
2. Let your partner lead.
3. Listen to the music and let your feet move to it.  

As much fun as dancing looks, it could never be as important as learning to dance in my daily life with Christ. However, I have found that learning to step into a daily relationship with Christ has many of the same pitfalls as when I try to dance.  I want to critique my partner.  I want to suggest that we move another way.  My muscles are overwhelmed by the novelty of this motion and I must follow mindfully to get it right. I am embarrassed by my floundering over the missteps.  I worry about bumping into people. I forget to relax and enjoy the music and I forget to trust my partner.  

The Christian walk has ebbs and flows much like the steps on a dance floor.  Some days I am going through the pains of dealing with my sin and learning to rely on Christ and some days I experience the joy of the fruits of this reliance.  The key is to hold on to my partner with all my heart, trust his lead and listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit who is my music to direct my steps.  And with experience comes trust.  Pushing through all the awkward beginnings are worth the joys of this dance. He never will let me fall. The following passage in Psalms from The Message translation of the Bible describes this dance perfectly. 

Psalm 119:65-72 MSG [65-72] 
Be good to your servant, GOD; be as good as your Word. Train me in good common sense; I'm thoroughly committed to living your way. Before I learned to answer you, I wandered all over the place, but now I'm in step with your Word. You are good, and the source of good; train me in your goodness. The godless spread lies about me, but I focus my attention on what you are saying; They're bland as a bucket of lard, while I dance to the tune of your revelation. My troubles turned out all for the best- they forced me to learn from your textbook. Truth from your mouth means more to me than striking it rich in a gold mine.

I have friends that can dance beautifully, but as much as I admire watching my friends dance, after a while it is boring.  It is the same way in my life in Christ.  I can go to church every time the doors open, I can listen to every sermon, I can learn the Christian lingo, sing the Christian songs, wave my hands in the air, follow the rules that I perceive to be Christian, but I will never know what it is to be a Christian until I chose to dance arm in arm with my personal Savior here and now, One-on-one.