The Lord of the Dance

 “If these Christians want me to believe in their god, they’ll have to sing better songs, they’ll have to look more like people who have been saved, they’ll have to wear on their countenance the joy of the beatitudes.  I could only believe in a god who dances.”

– Friedrick Nietzsche (who popularized the idea that “God is dead”)

 

I’m not much of a dancer so most of the time I enjoy watching shows like ‘Dancing with the Stars’ over me actually doing it.  One of the things about dancing shows is that they make it look so easy, so when you are actually on the dance floor, it seems like rocket science just trying to keep up with the rhythm and flow.  It takes a lot of work and sweat just to last an entire song, but there’s always something about dancing that is so captivating. 

I think Nietzsche probably saw such beauty in dancing too that made him associate dance as character of the divine.  While meditating in prayer today, I was struck by the word “abidance.”  Jesus says, “Abide in me as I abide in you” (John 15:4).  A branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine… abide… abidance… abi-dance… DANCE. 

Remaining in God is a lot like dancing.  This is because you are not struggling to be in control and worrying about how to take the first step.  You surrendered yourself to the flow of the music to let God lead you and give the cues.  In this way, you have become one with God like how two dancers become one body.  When you are in sync together, the two of you sway beautifully.  

Abidance means to trust God to lead and guide us through each step of our lives.  Abidance means to dance.  To take God’s hand and move in the same spirit of Christ.