“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.” (Ephesians 1:7-10)

God’s goal is to unites all things to Himself. How then can we be united to God?

Jesus said that any one who would follow him must deny himself. We do not do that easily. It is contrary to the survival instinct. But that is the way he instructs us to go.

God calls us to abandon ourselves. But that is not the end goal. Denying ourselves is not the ultimate goal. God’s purpose is to unite all things to Himself. His purpose is to fill all things, and He wants to fill US! To unite us to Him! But He cannot do that while we are in the way.

We are called to deny ourselves so we can have God, so that God can fill us and unite us to Him. When we are full of ourselves, there is no room for Him. We must empty ourselves so He can fill us.

He also wants to fill the body of Christ, the Church, and to unite the entire body of Christ in Himself. He cannot do that when we are all full of ourselves. Therefore, we should think of others more highly than we think of ourselves.

The greatest among us will be servants of all because those people are at the front of the line doing what Jesus did. Jesus was God who emptied Himself, humbled Himself and took on the form of man. He denied Himself and became one of us so that we can deny ourselves and become like God!