The Dance

I guess it’s fair to say that people dance for different reasons. One of my all-time favorite country songs is The Dance by Garth Brooks. I suppose it’s because it somehow manages to capture those emotions that exist between risk and reward, particularly in our relationships. Even though it’s a romantic song, I think it applies to just about any intimate relationship. “The Dance”

Looking back on the memory of
The dance we shared 'neath the stars above
For a moment all the world was right
How could I have known that you'd ever say goodbye

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Holding you I held everything
For a moment wasn't I a king
But if I'd only known how the king would fall
Hey who's to say you know I might have changed it all

And now I'm glad I didn't know
The way it all would end the way it all would go
Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain
But I'd have had to miss the dance

Yes my life is better left to chance
I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the danceOne of my greatest hesitations nowadays - I almost wrote “fear” - is forming new relationships, especially intimate ones. Why? Because there’s a good chance I will be in pain shortly after opening my heart up to another human being. People break my heart. And for the record, I’m not saying that I don’t break theirs (I’m sure I do). I say to myself, “You know, I could surely do without all the pain that will come with this…” And it’s true, I could, and when I refuse to open up my heart, part of me is relieved. But, then again, I’d have to miss the dance, which could’ve possibly turned out to be something quite beautiful.My favorite dance is the one I share with the Lord - I call it the “Gospel Dance”. I hear His music in my soul, and I long to dance with anyone who hears what I hear. However, if I ask someone to “dance” with me, it’s often a catastrophe, for they favor a different genre of music, a worldly one. They say “yes” because they are attracted to me, not the Lord. As such, before long, we are stepping on each other’s toes, grumbling under our breath, maybe never attempting to dance together again. I can’t help but think my Lord is grieved.Sometimes, if I’m on my game, I might dance the socks off of someone new…and for a time, we enjoy a few twirls around the dance floor. But even then, far too often for my heart to bear, my partner grows tired of my Lord’s tune, His Gospel, and they walk away from me. I say to myself, “Don’t despair, you’re a good dancer…it’s not you they have an issue with.” I find solace in scripture, for even the great prophets fared similarly…danced with for a while, but left alone on the dance floor. Ezekiel is a perfect example.“Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I make the land a desolation and a waste because of all their abominations which they have committed.” But as for you, son of man, your fellow citizens who talk about you by the walls and in the doorways of the houses, speak to one another, each to his brother, saying, “Come now and hear what the message is which comes forth from the LORD.” They come to you as people come, and sit before you as My people and hear your words, but they do not do them, for they do the lustful desires expressed by their mouth, and their heart goes after their gain. Behold, you are to them like a sensual song by one who has a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument; for they hear your words but they do not practice them. So when it comes to pass — as surely it will — then they will know that a prophet has been in their midst.What can a teacher say? He may sing his heart out, he may dance his feet off…but if he’s just another entertainer to his audience, the affair won’t last, it never does. Preachers like me are treated like pop music by most who hear us. Our music is a passing fad. Experiencing this can be emotionally debilitating at times. Even so, I’m encouraged knowing that, as Solomon would say, “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Note to self: don’t take this personally.Sometimes, when we’re sitting out a dance, we have to sit back and watch those in the world make fools of themselves, singing and dancing to music that originates from darkness. We have to watch while they bounce off of each other, swapping partners, changing their tune, as frequently as necessary to satisfy their lusts. There’s nothing beautiful about it, this cacophony that plays out all around us. Jesus pointed this out to those who would listen.But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John. “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”I’ll borrow from the late J. C. Ryle regarding the passage above:We must give up the idea of trying to please everyone. The thing is impossible, and the attempt is mere waste of time. We must be content to walk in Christ’s steps, and let the world say what it likes. Do what we will, we shall never satisfy it, or silence its ill-natured remarks. It first found fault with John the Baptist and then with his blessed Master. And it will go on caviling and finding fault with our Master’s disciples so long as one of them is left upon earth.It’s true, people dance for different reasons. Asking someone to dance means taking a chance, bringing back memories of grade school dance hall rejection or arrhythmic toe-smashing disasters (assuming the courting ever got that far). Both conjure up visceral memories of distress, but nothing compares to the Gospel dance proposition, where the stakes are much, much higher, and the music is led by God the Holy Spirit, Himself.In the end, the risk is worth it. Guys like me just have to suck it up, pray, and gather up enough courage to keep on asking, “may I have this dance?” If it turns out a bloody mess, then let us exit the dance floor with a little grace. Let us understand the wisdom that Mr. Brooks colloquially sang of, “I could have missed the pain but I'd have had to miss the dance”.In my weakness, I may not always have the courage to ask someone to dance. Forgive me, and those like me, for we are only human. The pain is real. May we be encouraged, knowing what Paul taught, “So, he who rejects this is not rejecting man but the God who gives His Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:8). We may not be perfect dancers, only Jesus Christ is, but the music we prefer is right, and the dance moves we exhibit are good enough to carry on His good work. Pray for us. Pray for our courage. Pray for our healing. Pray we risk the pain and keep on dancing. I’ll be praying for all of you, for I know I’m not the only one entreating others to dance the Gospel.

Love in Christ,

Ed Collins