People love babies, but we really love dancing babies. Do a search on YouTube alone, and you’ll get over 200,000 results that include baby break-dancers, Beyonce-spoofing babies,
and even some moon-walking toddlers. So what’s the big deal? Why do we love seeing a baby dance?
Maybe we just enjoy thinking about the days when we had that same sense of freedom and uninhibited joy, when the mere sound of music moved us enough to make us dance. We didn’t care who was watching or if we were on beat. But that changes for most of us, probably around the time we show up to our first school dance. Then we either try to dance like everybody else, or sadly, we just stop dancing altogether.
But sandwiched in the midst of our Christmas story, we find an example of a very small someone who found something worth dancing for.
Luke 1:39-45 says,
At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
After receiving word from Gabriel that her relative Elizabeth was also pregnant, Mary immediately packed up for a road trip. She hurried off to the hill country to congratulate Elizabeth in person, but her arrival caused quite a reaction. Verses 41 and 44 tell us that Elizabeth’s baby “leaped for joy” at the sound of Mary’s voice. Mary’s greeting was music to the baby’s ears and inspiration for his feet.
This was no ordinary baby, and it certainly was no ordinary encounter. The baby growing in Elizabeth’s belly would grow into the man we know as John the Baptist. Wondering how he fits into this story? John 1:6-7 tells us, “God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony.”
God sent John to tell the world about the Light, so it only makes sense that he would be the first to recognize Him. And from where I’m sitting, his reaction is priceless. He didn’t let a little thing like a womb keep him from expressing his excitement. Knowing the Light of the world was near was enough to make him jump for joy. With his little fetus feet, he danced before the Lord.
This holiday season we have the opportunity to celebrate the fact that Christ is more than just near. If we place our faith in Him, He dwells (lives) in our hearts {see Ephesians 3:17}. That should make us all want to get up and dance this Christmas, so put on your dancing shoes for the One worth dancing for.
Getting Personal:
- Elizabeth responds as strongly as her son does to Jesus’ arrival. What did you notice about her reaction?
- How do you think this encounter impacted Mary? (see Luke 1:46-55 for help)
- What do you think about John the Baptist’s reaction to Jesus?
- What things in your life are keeping you from responding to Christ with a joy like John’s?
- Dancing can certainly be a form of worship (check out David’s behavior in 2 Samuel 6), but there are many ways to celebrate God’s presence in our lives. What is one thing you can do today to show God and others that He is worth celebrating?
Note: This is one of the daily devotionals included in this month's featured resource: The 12 Days of Christmas Bible Study