“She extends her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.” Proverbs 31:20

Upright

I remember my mom always telling me when I was young to “Stand up straight!” She wanted shoulders back, head up. I remember practicing walking with a book on my head so my posture would be good. To this day, if I’m not paying attention, I realize I hunch over when I sit, leaning on the table or propping my head in my hands. It takes a little bit of effort to sit up straight—to use those torso, neck, and back muscles to hold me upright—and it takes awareness of having slipped from upright to hunched.

Uprightness in the Bible has much more to do with our spiritual state than our body. But I’ve been thinking lately about our physical upright position, the way God made our skeletons and muscles to hold us upright, heads pointing to Him. (Even in a wheelchair, our heads are upright; even when we must succumb to lying on our beds, our eyes can be upward, towards Him.) “Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself” (Psalm 80:17).

When we stand upright and our heads are pointed to Him, then where are our arms when we stretch them out? To the sides of us. With our hands we reach out to others—giving, comforting, helping.

I see a cross. I see an upright beam, straight and tall. I see arms extended out to the side, stretched, reaching to others.

Our very bodies are a picture of the cross, ever a reminder of what the Son of God did for us.

“Lord, help us live this out. May our heads, our thoughts, our mind, our will, always be upright, towards You. And may our hands be stretched out towards those You put in our lives, helping, showing mercy and forgiveness, giving what You have given us. In the precious Name of Jesus. Amen.”