As Jesus clearly puts it, one “self” must die for another “Self” to be born; that message is quite explicit in all four Gospels (Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; Matthew 16:25; John 12:24). In the practical order, this mostly feels like taking my “self,” my ego—both its hurts and its importance, which are largely manufactured by my mind—less seriously day by day. Growth in salvation is growth in liberation from the self.
