Rise up, O men of God!

Yesterday, on the way home from jump roping with the kids, I tuned into the BBN and heard the hymn, Rise up, O men of God! I find that I am still pondering these words, and I want to share two of the verses with you, as well as give you a little history on the hymn.

Rise up, O men of God was written in 1911, by William P. Merrill. It was first published in the Presbyterian newspaper, The Continent. Merrill had been told by a collegue that there was an urgent need of a brotherhood hymn. Today we have an urgent need of men of God!

Rise up, O men of God!
The church for you doth wait,
Her strength unequal to her task;
Rise up and make her great!

Lift high the cross of Christ!
Tread where His feet have trod.
As brothers of the Son of Man,
Rise up, O men of God!

I love the words: Rise up and make her great, Lift high the cross of Christ, Tread where His feet have trod. In Sunday school this past week we were talking about being humble and being another persons wing-man. People kept talking about different things you had to do to be a good wing-man, and I finally spoke up and said, to be a good wing-man, you have to know the person...not just know about them. You have to invest in them.

In the same way, we as disciples of Christ, are called to invest in our relationship with Him. We are to Rise up and make Jesus great! We are to lift high the cross of Christ and tread where His feet have trod. This is not always easy, as we learn from the Easter story, but Christ is victorious, and the battle is already won!

As a single woman, I am looking for a man that understands how to Lift high the cross of Christ. These are the men that I find most attractive, those that Rise up and make her great. Sadly, I know very few. Men--you are brothers of the Son of Man, you are brothers of Jesus Christ!