They cut me down and I leapt up high,
I am the life that’ll never, never die;
I’ll live in you if you’ll live in me;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.Dance, then, wherever you may be;
I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.
And I’ll lead you all wherever you may be,
And I’ll lead you all in the dance, said he.Words: Sydney B. Carter, 1963.
Usually, I don’t pay any attention. Few of us do. Only occasionally do we become aware of the music in the background. ‘Elevator music’ we call it. In some settings we’d dance to it — a nightclub, or a wedding reception. But in the coffee shop or the elevator we scarcely notice the music and if we do, we don’t dance. It just isn’t done unless we’re drunk or worse, and then it is unacceptable, so we tune it out.
Sometimes I think the message of the gospel is like elevator music. I’ve tuned it out. It is ubiquitous in my evangelical life so I learn not to notice it, not act on it. My life is compartmentalized so that to merely hear seems adequate; to act, to dance outside the box, never occurs to me.
How about you? Why aren’t we dancing?
Oh, let’s take it to the limit. Job knew that his Redeemer lived, but he for damn sure wasn’t dancing.
(I’m almost not as cranky as I sound tonight 😉 )
Hey old friend! It’s always a treat to run across something you’ve written. I subscribe to the House2House newletter and they had your simple church newsletter attached. And, Sherlock that I am, I tracked down your blog!
We still need to get together for dinner before Jesus comes back. Or maybe we should just go dancing . . .
Da-annn, where are you?