I’ll always remember this time a couple of years ago when I got this really deep, close hug from my daughter. Y’know the kind that make you think about the time when she won’t be so close anymore, and it makes you savor every second?

And then when it was over, neither one of us knew quite what to do next. And we were just standing there.And then my daughter did what most 3-year-olds do to express their joy. She started jumping up and down, holding out her hands for me to join her in a little father-daughter happy dance.

Oftentimes, the thing we most want to express - like joy - we can’t. And I think that’s the case sometimes when it comes to sharing the Gospel. We know what Christ has done for us, we want to share that joy with others, but we don’t think we have the right words or - worse yet - we think we’ll say the wrong thing. So, we just don’t do it. We don’t take the leap.

It’s interesting that Mary doesn’t even have to use any words to tell Elizabeth about Jesus. A pre-natal John Baptist does it for her…by jumping up and down in the womb. The joy is unspoken, but unmistakable. Because that’s how God works. Not with wise persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, as Paul writes about in 1Corinthians.

We don’t need the right words. We need to be like my daughter, and John Baptist. We need to go ahead and jump, with our arms stretched out in love. And let the Spirit take it from there.