Thomas Merton suggests that we have a false self that needs to die and a real self that needs to blossom in the likeness of the Son. The false self betrays God and me. It has a continuous inclination to evil. The false self must die, not so that I can say I have arrived at a higher level of religious experience. That within itself tells me that the false self has not died. We die to our false self for the life of the world as Jesus died for the life of the world (John 3:16). We lay our lives down as a sacrifice in worship (Rom 12:1-2), poured out for God and others. This brings the life of Christ to the world around us.
“There is a sinful self that needs to die, there is a natural self that needs to be disciplined, there is an actual self that needs to be realized.” J. O. McClurkan
From, “Springs In Dry Places”, by H. Lamar Smith View Here
