By Kass Unger
“I want to see jellyfish, jellyfish swimming through honey.” A truly bizarre statement for you maybe, but something I hear at least once a week. My samba teacher uses it to describe a hand motion, one where movement gently flows down a relaxed hand and then contracts a little at the end. When done right, it looks exactly like a jellyfish trying to swim through honey.
This motion is one that I have been trying to achieve for the last year and a half, and the only thing I have really learnt is…it is harder than it looks. When done with fluidity and grace, it involves so much more than just the hand.
Let me tell you the secret to dance. Most movements originate from the floor and the core of the body. What looks like a little flick of the wrist rarely is. The best dancers are those that use all of the body, flowing together. The movement originates in the core, pushes through the floor and flutters into every extension of their body.
Is this not the same with our discipleship and ministry? It starts in our hearts - our centre - and then flows into all elements of our lives. To let that ministry shine in only one or two aspects of our lives stifles the magnitude and creativity of the Spirit's movement.
I have always struggles with the hymn ‘We are one in the Spirit’. I love it, but mostly I get hooked up on the chorus, “And they'll know we are Christians by our love.” REALLY?? They will KNOW by our LOVE? and CHRISTIANS, they will be able to tell that we believe in Christ and follow his teachings or will they just think we are lovely people? I went back and looked at the verses, and that isn't really how they will know. Rather, we will pray, we will testify about God, we will work for peace and justice and we will worship. This is how they will know, and if we invite others on this journey with us there is no question they will know.
However, this praying, testifying, peach and justice working and worshiping expression needs to be in our whole lives, not just where we feel safe, like church and camps, but everywhere we go. If we don’t make it a full expression, starting in our hearts and reaching out to all the corners of our lives, then we get a 4 year old painting a wall rather than jellyfish swimming in honey.
