Raising Up

The message got lost in their hatred for the man. For Christians, the concept of 'raising up' is not a foreign one. We raise people up in prayer. We raise holy hands ... and we are called to raise up our friends and neighbors.

"To raise" in the Old Testament is most frequently the translation of the Hiphil form of qum, "to cause to arise," e.g. raising up seed (Genesis 38:8), a prophet (Deuteronomy 18:18), judges (Judges 2:16,18), etc.; also of `ur, "to awake," "stir up" (Ezra 1:5 the King James Version; Isaiah 41:2, etc.), with other words. In the New Testament the chief words are egeiro, "to awaken," "arouse" (Matthew 3:9; Luke 1:69; 3:8, etc.), frequently of raising the dead; and anistemi (Matthew 22:24; John 6:39, etc.; Acts 2:24 (30 the King James Version), etc.), with compounds of the former."

Raising the Bible is a familiar Christian 'gesture'. I'm not surprised that it largely went unrecognized. It is routinely done during a number of denominational Christian services* and you can witness it being done spontaneously at an Evangelical Christian Bible Study ... and just about anywhere else a spirit filled Christian may be moved ... inside or out. It doesn't require denominational dispensation of any 'Bishop', fancy hat, colorful robe, incense, or a permit for the location. The President's gesture was a message of hope to herald a new awakening. A message that was co-opted by those hostile to peace. Hostile to faith. Hostile to the man. As for the ‘Bishop’, I can only say that her theo-political ‘progressive Christian’ perspective allowed her to put her politics before her mission and that's a problem for her. We know that ‘teachers’ are held to a far higher standard. (James 3:1).

Those who pretend to know the President's mind, heart, or motivation not only do violence to Biblical principle, but they, too, exalt their politics over their faith and call. Those who describe themselves as "raised Christian" need to be reminded that sitting in the garage won't make you a car ... and "dancing in your underwear won't make you Madonna." One doesn't have to venture far these days to see a lot of people dancing in their underwear trying to be Madonna.

This is my call to raise your consciousness, and to encourage you to 'raise one another up' and stop putting one another down. ____ *The Torah is raised up in the Jewish Synagogue, as well.