There are hundreds of millions of those peoples that have declared that they are Christian. That might seem to indicate that because so many believe in the vital worth of that religion, and hence as seeing Jesus the Christ as their redeeming Messiah, that this world, for a certainty, is a better place for having all those Christians amongst us – as well as also those of other religious faiths, that recognize the importance and value of spiritual values that help to make them, not only better people, but better on behalf of the society that they are an integral part of.
We read in Holy Scripture, Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16: 24). This is the type of scripture, that many people are quite aware of, but don’t in actuality, pay personal attention to what it so signifies. That is to say, for a certainty, Christ took up His cross, and for His trouble, was crucified to physical death. Not only was Christ crucified, but Christ had to endure all sorts of injustice and injury to who and what He really was. So then, taking up one’s cross, does not mean that one will therefore receive accolades or appreciation from the people, but rather it means that one will unjustly suffer on behalf of those people, in the hope that by doing so, it will awaken those that have their priorities wrong, to what then is truly right and righteous.
The way of the cross, therefore, is not an easy road, but instead requires bravery, fortitude, commitment, selflessness, and endurance. Which thus signifies for all those that like to think that they are good people, Christian in nature, and good to others, is that perhaps the road that they are personally on, is one more structured for those that do not have the heart to actually put much of anything of theirs at personal risk. That, in a nutshell, is why this world, despite, Christ having incarnated here and having provided us with the wisdom and hence that pathway to follow, remains so unjust, so unfair, so wrong, and so sinful, far too often.
The thing about evil, is that evil cannot hold a candle to those that by their actions are consistently good in accomplishing things of merit. Evil cannot handle the Light, for evil resides in the darkness and the ignorance of humankind’s hearts, and if only more people would take up their cross in order to combat and to battle against the forces of evil, then the ensuing result would make for a world that would be ever getting closer to enlightenment, rather than this world and its people cycling through the same errors and mishaps, generation after generation, as if those so gifted with a good and sound mind, have little real interest in devoting themselves to the overall beneficence of humankind. In truth, each of us needs to take to heart and to well remember that the cross precedes the crown, and those that will not willingly take up the cross, will not soon get the crown.