Daily Devotional

When Jesus speaks about carrying our crosses, He is not referring to sufferings entirely beyond our control. For instance, if I suffer from a medical condition, I cannot call it a cross because it is not something entirely within my power. I cannot choose to drop it or pick it up at will. The crosses we must bear as we follow Jesus are those sufferings that come to us in the process of pursuing a righteous life. In other words, you have a choice to either compromise your values (give in to sin to end the suffering) or continue doing what is right even though you are being persecuted for it.

Treat your body as God’s temple. If unmarried, keep yourself free from all forms of immorality. If you are married, be faithful to your spouse. Adultery is a sin. Keeping a side-chick or side-cock is evil. There is no justification whatsoever for the act of sex outside of the holy domain of marriage. Anyone who considers this statement about adultery offensive is another Herod in the making. Like St. John the Baptist, we would not stop proclaiming the truth.

A Christian who rejects the cross fails to carry the extra oil. For instance, as a youth, you may have the experience of your peers laughing at you and calling you a fool for not joining them to partake in the pleasures of the world.