My cross is heavy and ugly;
I guess depending on my mood
Because sometimes I see it
Glowing in the dark, guiding my feet
On treacherous grounds and sometimes
I feel it strong, a firm clutch, stable support,
Keeping me standing in slippery places,
Progressing while others are crashing.
When I don’t eat right, I lose weight
And it feels so heavy I’m tempted to drop it
But when I eat well, I stand amazed
Because my cross is just the right size for me.
If only I could stick with the right food
But I like junk and every once in a while,
I ignore the cost and go for it:
If only I could eat right, I know this seemingly
Overwhelming cross is just the right size for me.
During my last vacation, I was out to have fun. One of the prerequisites for that fun is to eat whatever I wanted and not count calories. And top on the list of whatever I wanted stood out what we refer to as junk food. I remember going out with a friend and saying emphatically, “I’m not having salad! No veggies today.”
I am not anti-veggie. In fact, my typical life consists of salad for everyday lunch but vacation is not part of that normal and I was determined, at least that day, to see it so. My not wanting veggie is not because I am ignorant of the value and associated health benefits. I love vegetables. I made the choice to eat them every day because I know and I appreciate these benefits. Vegetables are part of my norm but during vacation, I want change, I want different, I want variety, and I want to exploit the opportunities of exploring some unique, even bizarre foods.
Does that change what I know and how much I value them? Not at all. I have learned that this holiday mode is not relegated to me alone. It is an itch that is common to man in varying areas of life. It is not limited to wanting a change from the bad. When good becomes routine and predictable, we itch for change. We long for new experiences.
It is therefore not uncommon in these times and days, that the good are testing the bad, pushing the limits to see how far they can go. And for some, it is not about diverting into the wrong lane. It is rather the itch for something different, something odd and weird, like you have pursued the eternal so much and for so long that for just a little while, you want something flashy and ephemeral. We live in times where values are constantly shifting and we appear odd clinging to our old rugged crosses. It is further complicated by the fact that it seems everyone else is doing it so why not me? This is the reasonable but subtle and slippery slope that is claiming the faithful who have waited on God for so long.
Like Abraham, they decide that be it from Sarah or Hagar, a son is a son. We forget that with God, Israel and Ishmael may start and end with the same letters but they are two different people, worlds apart. The same reasonable process can produce divergent ends. A seemingly harmless decision Abraham took years back to help God laid the foundation for the worst atrocities as we are experiencing today. It should not be surprising that the decisions you and I are making would carry consequences that are bound to influence the lives of generations to come.
Considering the trends of these present times, it is easy to slip off the right path without even realizing that you are no longer there. The dividing line between truth and false, good and bad is become so thin you can barely tell where one ends and the other starts. Consequently, people are shifting from one to the other without realizing that they have, and how far they have derailed. Many who have discarded the way of the cross for an instant dalliance with the broad way are lost not because they intended to get lost. They stepped out for a quick one. There were no plans to pitch a tent there. It was intended to be a one off deal. The danger there is that though some make it back, some don’t, while others live, overladen with regrets.
Therefore, in these times when many are growing restless, with itching ears and eyes and hands, there is need to be even more sensitive to God and His Spirit. Though it appears that everyone is doing it, truth remains that God has reserved for Himself, many who though tempted, are not bowing their knees to the popular gods of this age: not in the open and not in secret. You may not see them, may not know any of them but they are certainly all around us: more than we can count.
These times that many appear to prefer chasing shadows, you need to know that there remains, living witnesses who shun the glitters for the drudgeries of the cross. And in rejecting transient fame, they are made ready to embrace richer and more enduring glory, and honor, and fame that bears the stamp of Christ. Nobody may see you or hear about it but the One from whom nothing is hidden, is watching. The cross or the clout? The choice is yours.
Glory!