“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?”

It’s hard to find another passage in the New Testament that more utterly shames and discounts the so-called Prosperity Gospel: “Name it and claim it.” “God will make you rich.” “God will give you whatever you want, as long as you trust Him.”

The fact is, God gives us what we need, not what we think we want, and what we NEED is opportunities for sanctification–opportunities to let the image of Him in us shine more clearly.

That means crosses. Jesus is quite explicit that worldly riches are often a great impediment to spiritual life and growth. Still, regardless of how much material wealth we have–and given the way the vast majority of humanity has lived throughout all of history, we are ALL rich, indeed–we are called to humbly submit to our crosses, to the sufferings and frustrations we cannot avoid. We are all called to bear these cheerfully, lovingly, joyfully for the Lord, allowing them to sanctify us thereby.

That’s a tall order. None of us does it perfectly. I very rarely do it well. But the key is TRYING. The key is in doing what we can to grow in that area, trying again when we fail, and trusting the grace of God to take care of the rest.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness–who desire to bear their crosses better, who desire to align their interests, loves, hates, and wills with the Lord. They will be satisfied.