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Its back! That bastion of Saturday night BBC
broadcasting - Strictly Come Dancing. It isn't for everyone I readily
admit but you have to admire the accomplishments of those people who,
often from a standing start, find in themselves the skill and determination
to dance competently, sometimes wonderfully, with a world standard professional.
In my late teens I took up ballroom dancing and have enjoyed it ever
since. It is a great skill to have and there is a real sense of accomplishment
for even the beginner to make it across the floor. Watching the professionals
putting their pupils through their paces can be both entertaining and
inspiring. It is awkward at first as you find your feet - and your teacher's.
But as you gain in confidence you simply want to try more and more challenging
steps.
As a novice there were some things I learned consciously - the steps,
the moves, the rhythm; and some I learned instinctively - how to read
my partner's body so I could follow his lead. But when I began to dance
I was not certain of what I had learned, and my movements were hesitant
and awkward. I had to learn to trust my training and my partner and
relax and let them take me round the floor. Trust is an essential element
in ballroom dancing. For an exam or a competition you can learn a routine,
but in a real dance, your partner needs what is called 'floorcraft'
- the ability to read the situation and guide you into steps that will
avoid a collision with other dancers. When you begin the dance you do
not know what will happen or which way you will go.
I have been thinking recently that life with Jesus is like that. There
are things I know in my head and things I know in my heart, but my steps
are hesitant and awkward. I need to relax and give control to Jesus.
He will guide my steps and take me through every situation, but I have
to trust Him - and stop trying to lead!
In the text we read that:
Through the law I died to the law so
that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no
longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
In the law I once had a harsh and unforgiving partner who stood on the
side of the dance floor barking orders and issuing condemnation for
my poor performance. In Christ I have found a kind and loving partner
who joins me on the floor and takes me through my dance, giving me new
life and patiently leading me through the steps as I work out my salvation
before God. I would be a fool indeed if I failed to follow where he
leads. May we be found following in his steps this week and may the
world see in our lives how the dance of life should be performed, in
Christ and to God's glory.
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