Scripture: Matthew 11:17
“We played the pipe for you, look
and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge, troche
and you did not mourn.”

Thought for the Day: There are an infinite number of tunes available for our life’s dance, help but for any of them to matter, we have to make a commitment to dance in the first place. We often act like children, refusing to play this game or that, simply because it’s been introduced by someone who’s trying to teach us a completely new tune. Often, we ignore a new song and dance because of our own arrogance and egos. John the Baptist and Jesus encountered this problem. John, probably the last of the old-time prophets, continued to play the dirge of doom his predecessors like Amos and Jeremiah invented. As it was for Amos, people also refused to commit to John’s message.

Jesus introduced an entirely new song into our reality, a song about love, grace, hope, and redemption, no matter how terrible or evil society labels someone. In Jesus’ world, we are all dancing with God, whether we realize it or not. Jesus introduced a new, intimate dance with God, a dance with our own souls, ignited by God loving us into existence, and sustained by our eternal love for God in return. We all dance to the beat of a different drummer, and that’s okay, because our lead singer is God, who never sings out of key—unlike us, who all, every now and then, might fall a little flat.

Prayer: Sustain me with your song of life, O glorious God of soul-stirring music. Dance a grace-filled, elegant waltz with me, and be patient when every now and then, I misstep. Amen.