This kind of person can only say, together with Mary, "My soul magnifies the Lord" (Luke 1:46). Such a one is no longer openly or secretly puffed up and self-exalting, but knows himself to be useless and is willing to humble himself and exalt the Lord. Now he no longer wants to steal the Lord's glory and give it to the self (soul), but he magnifies the Lord in his soul. If the Lord is not being magnified in the soul, then the Lord is not being magnified in any place.

Only this kind of person considers his life (soul) of no account as if precious (Acts 20:24), but lays down his life (soul) for the brothers (1 John 3:16). If the heart of loving oneself is not lost, then when the Lord calls us in reality to bear the cross for Him, we will shrink back. Because the soul-life is specifically rejected daily, one can, for the sake of the Lord, consider his life "of no account as if precious." For even under normal daily situations, one must live as a martyr, willing to give his life to the cross, so that when the time comes, he can carry out that martyrdom for the Lord. Because daily there is a life willing to be poured out for the brothers, not seeking one's own right or comfort but denying the self every day, one can "lay down [his] life on behalf of the brothers" in that special time and circumstance. The real loving of the Lord and loving of the brothers comes from not loving the self. A Christ who wanted to save Himself and pity Himself could not love us and die for us. If He "loved me," then He would give "Himself up for me." The heart of love comes from the rejecting of the soul-life. The shedding of blood is the source of blessing.

This kind of living is the living wherein the soul prospers (3 John 2). Prosperity comes not because one has gained anything but because one has lost everything. However, the soul-losing life is not a losing life because the soul is lost in God. The soul-life is restricting and selfish. The soul that is lost in the life of God lives in the unlimited life of God. This is liberty, and this is prosperity. The more loss we suffer, the more prosperous our gain will be. Our possessions are not measured by how much we receive but by how much we give. This is the real fruitful living!

However, forsaking the soul-life is not as quick as being delivered from sin. This is our life, and every day we must be willing not to live by it but choose the life of God instead. Thus, the cross in us has to be borne faithfully each time more than the time before. The time is still long. Therefore, we should look away unto the Lord Jesus who, despising the shame, endured the cross. "For compare Him...so that you may not grow weary, fainting in your souls" (Heb. 12:2-3). The way His soul felt about the shame, despising it and enduring the cross, is the goal for those of us willing to tread the path of the cross. "Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name" (Psa. 103:1).