Holy Dance

Ephesians 5:15-6:9
Mark 12:28-34
Psalm 133:1-3

I saw the picture.
I bet you did, too.

George Floyd’s body on the ground, a police officer’s knee to his neck.

I. Can’t. Breathe.

And the Church began to move.

While racial injustice has soared for the United States’ entire existence and slavery built the understructure of our nation, we’ve been quiet.

Excuses.

“If only…”
“Well, if they hadn’t…”
“They should’ve…”

Until the injustice was so blatantly obvious we couldn’t ignore it any longer.

I’m ashamed it took the dying words of a lynched man to wake us up.

Our call to love, to submit, to live in unity within the Church is as old as mankind
because our God is a God of unity.

All throughout Scripture, God tells us to love. He shows us He is a listening and hearing God and since we were made in His image, we should be listening and hearing, too.

Yet.

We have women in abusive marriages begging for help.
While the Church looks away. 

We have children crying for parents to love and care for them.
While the Church looks away. 

We have Black neighbors decrying injustice and racism of all kinds.
While the Church looks away. 

Or, at least, it did.

In Ephesians, Paul calls the Church to action, disputing the idea we were ever given permission to turn a blind eye to the many dark injustices in the world.

First, he calls us to unity, instructing us to be wise and clear-minded. He exhorts us to speak to one another with the music of heaven threaded through our words and to worship together, offer our thanks to the Lord, and …
submit to one another in reverent awe of Christ. 

Did you catch the lack of distinction?

Submit.
Every. Single. Believer.

The world tries to put the Bible within the context of its own darkened, limited, sin-stained understanding. Unfortunately, many Christians believe the world, instead of reading the Bible and commentaries and seeking the perfect understanding of the Holy Spirit. (Example: the world likes to say, “Only God can judge me.” But we know from Scripture, that is a misrepresentation to excuse sin.)

So, it’s no surprise we’ve believed the world’s pronouncement that submission is archaic, antifeminist, and oppressive. The idea of submission can leave us with a bad aftertaste if we refuse to learn what the Lord truly means by the beautiful dance of submission.

The Lord’s desire for us to submit, each to the other, whoever the “other” is, regardless of gender, heritage, race, position, or ethnicity, is born out of how God holds submission within Himself as a triune God. Each member of the trinity actively submits to the other to bring about whole oneness and perfect unity.
A lovely, holy dance of submission, one to another.

If we, as Christians, submitted “one to the other”, we would look a lot more like Jesus than we do right now.

Biblical submission is not archaic, antifeminist, or oppressive.
It isn’t abusive, it’s beautiful.

Submitting means putting others before ourselves.

In fact, the idea of biblical submission is closely related to meekness. Before you start thinking this means weakness, here’s the definition Jesus referenced for the Greek word for meek:

“Intentionally choosing to lovingly, gently defer in order to esteem and value another.”

Meek submission requires strength of character, complete reliance on God to supply our needs, and a tender, compassionate willingness to pause and listen to others’ words and respond to their needs. Meek submission lovingly and intentionally lays aside our own arrogant need to be right and instead, elevates the other person.

In order to live this way in our everyday lives, we must first submit to God by fully grasping His will for the Church to live as one unified Body.

Now here’s the thing… when I say the Church looks away when injustice reigns, I don’t mean every church or every person in the Church, but shouldn’t we be unified in opposition to injustice?

When People of Color within the Church speak up on division, shouldn’t the whole Church hold each other up?
That’s unity.
That’s submission.
That’s meekness.

Paul goes on to explain wives are to submit to their husbands, children are to honor and respect their parents, and slaves are to obey their masters (or employees to employers), all of which looks like a big, heaping spoonful of beautiful, godly, strong and gentle, meek submission.

Before Paul really gets into details, he first instructs us to speak to one another in love, give thanks, and submission to one another.

No distinction. No qualification. No excuse.

All of us are to submit to one another. 

And all are to submit to Christ.

“I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
–Jesus

Share your thoughts from today’s Journey Study!
Can we pray for you?
Sign up to receive every Journey Study!
Join our Facebook Community!