Easter means following Jesus and that will involve “self-emptying.”

Easter means following Jesus and that will involve “self-emptying.” Philippians 4:5-11 tells us Jesus emptied himself of heaven’s grandeur to become a human and then further emptied himself to die on the cross. Following Jesus means emptying myself my ego’s needs and expectations, things like money, influence, power, prestige, etc. I cannot do this emptying by myself; I may have the desire, but I will need the continuing assistance of the Holy Spirit. These things are not evil or bad in and of themselves but if we are not careful, they become our primary desire. Our primary desire, as Jesus’ followers, is to become hidden with Jesus, as in Jesus’ Gethsemani prayer “not my will but Thine be done”. Self-emptying, among other things, involves not becoming so attached to this world’s things and ideas that if we do not have them, we become envious, jealous, upset, frustrated, angry, etc. Not being attached does mean we do not care; it means those things are not our soul’s identity, i.e., we can take them without their meaning too much and/or we can do without them. It is Easter and the message is dying to self, or self-emptying, and let God raise you up. Do not try to raise yourself because it does not work. Easter means following Jesus and that will involve “self-emptying.”