The Devil's Worst Kept Secret

There’s this thing that people the world over talk about eagerly, eyes all stars and smiles dancing on their lips. They look at you and say you have it; you shake your head, look at someone else and say they have it. Elusive.

It’s the American Dream.

Which is basically ease. Who doesn’t like Amazon Prime, or Doordash, or Walmart pickup or Uber rides? Ease lets us fit more things in our day. (Which is quite contradictory, in case you never noticed.) Few they are who preach on verses like “he who does not take up his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me,” (Matthew 10:38), or “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me,” (Matthew 16:24).

Incidentally, all of that is exactly the devil’s worst kept secret. The one and only rule of his kingdom is just that: “Do what thou wilt.” Or, in more modern language, “follow your heart.” Just do the easy things. As Corrie ten Boom aptly put it, if the devil can’t make you bad, he’ll make you busy.

God’s call for us today is the same as it was thousands of years ago:

Take up your cross.

Follow Me.

And by the way, it’s not easy.

It’s not supposed to be easy.

But taking up your cross, following Me, is exactly what will save you.

Today, what is your cross?