As we enter into the deeper life which the Spirit calls us in through the Baptism of Fire, we learn the meaning of the cross in Jesus' life and in the life of the follower of Jesus. We learn that Jesus taught us the path of discipleship through the cross for a purpose. That purpose was stated by Paul: "But if we are children, we are heirs as well: heirs of God, heirs with Christ, if only we suffer with him, so as to be glorified with him" (Rom 8:17). There is no resurrection without the cross, no Easter without Good Friday, no eternal life without the death to sin, no deeper life in the Spirit without the abandonment of self.

As we surrender and unite our will to God, as we empty ourselves of the need to be somebody through grasping and selfishness so as to become somebody through giving and service, we gradually learn the meaning and value of dying in order to live. In the words of Jesus: "I solemnly assure you, unless the grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains just a grain of wheat. But if it dies, it produces much fruit" (Jn 12:24). This paradox is a mystery. But what seems like a contradiction to all that is humanly logical is the reality which leads to truth.