And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” Luke 18:39
I’ve never been comfortable with dancing – either with doing it myself, or with others doing it. Particularly in church, it makes me squirm to see others overtly express their worship with movement. In my reserved, stoic attitude, church means standing still while remaining expressionless.
God seems to find some pleasure in pushing my absurd self-imposed boundaries though. When in India a few years ago, the group I was with visited a village in the mountains, where we were greeted at the edge of town by a dancing crowd. To get to the town church, we had to exit the vehicles and dance our way in with them. It was therapeutic for me, but I’m not yet over my discomfort with physically expressive worship. I still squirm in church, when someone in front of me moves too much. That’s distracting. Just stand still!
Today’s story then, is a good reminder of how ridiculous my personal biases can be. In the passage, Luke told of a blind man who heard that Jesus was passing by. He cried out for help, but the crowd found it distracting. Annoyed, they told him to be quiet. The blind man didn’t care what anyone thought. He needed Jesus and was willing to do anything in his power to find him. He cried out all the louder and was rewarded for his seeking as Jesus heard his cries and healed him.
The lesson works two ways. First, in my own need, I must seek Christ above all. I can’t let my concern for the opinion of others obstruct my pursuit of faith and recovery. Maybe I will or won’t have to dance, but in worrying about my dignity, I miss out on what I truly need.
Second, I don’t want to be like the judgmental crowd who tried to silence the blind man. I shouldn’t allow my own bias to shape my opinion of how others seek God.
If we want to know faith, life, and recovery, we must continually abandon our way for God’s. We must forget our discomforts and do whatever it takes to pursue that which we truly need. We shouldn’t worry about what anyone else thinks and if God asks us to dance, then (sigh), we must dance.
Coming soon – on or about February first – The Seeds of the Spirit will transition to a new website, Faith in the Struggle. As the reader, you won’t need to do anything differently. The old address will direct to the new one and if you read by email, you should still receive it in your inbox every day. Faith in the Struggle will, of course, be posted on Facebook as well. Thanks for reading and please continue to share those posts you find helpful!