Straighten Up

 by Macy Johnson

“Then He put His hands on her,

and immediately she straightened up

and praised God.”

(Luke 13:13 NIV)

 

As a young girl in my parent’s home, my mother would often shake her finger at me and admonish, “You had better straighten up, young lady!” Fortunately, I often got the message the first time. I could almost hear Jesus speak through her, then and now.

 

Back then I knew I needed to get my act together and do the right thing for me to return to a right relationship with my mother. But now I understand the bigger picture. I could never “straighten up” unless Jesus touched me first.

 

Jesus touched the crippled woman in the synagogue, on a Sabbath, and set her free from her infirmity. Church leaders criticized Him for not following their rules to abstain from work on the Sabbath. He is Lord of the Sabbath and they were clueless. They were the ones who needed to “straighten up.”

 

Nat King Cole wrote “Straighten Up and Fly Right” in 1961. According to Google, “Cole said the song was based on a folk tale his father used as a theme for a sermon. In the tale, a buzzard takes different animals on his back for a joy ride in the sky. When he gets hungry, he throws them off, then swoops down in a dive and eats them for dinner. A monkey who observed the buzzard’s MO, agrees to take a ride, but he wraps his tail around the buzzard’s neck.”

 

I sometimes feel the burdens of the day press down hard on my shoulders like a monkey on my back. The only way to experience true relief is to pass the stress over to Jesus.

 

I will straighten up, reach for Jesus, and stay on the straight and narrow path with Him today. I hope you will, too!