Sometimes I look for a silver bullet of devotion, some big act to cement my allegiance to Christ and live a radical faith. Should I move to Kentucky and start farming? Throw away my smartphone? Perhaps.

The better question is, What is Jesus, the lover of my soul, asking of me? What is he asking of you? To be sure he is asking all — total surrender. But surrender takes on external forms appropriate to the person. God calls some to take a vow of poverty. Others, like Thomas Maclellan, a 19^th-century businessman whose powerful prayer I stumbled upon this week, are called to business. All of us are called to be rich toward God (Luke 12:21).

Christian Simplicity, our focus this month, isn’t renouncing wealth or technology. It is singleness of mind on Jesus Christ. ​“It means,” says Richard Foster in Freedom of Simplicity, ​“being cognizant of many issues while having only one issue at the center — holy obedience.”

‘Tis a gift to be simple,