05/20/2026
From Trinitarian Ministry and Worship:
Christ came so that humanity might become fully alive
(from Robert Michaud)
The prayer “Lord, empty me of myself so Christ may live through me, less of me, more of You” sounds humble and spiritual. It might echo verses such as Galatians 2:20 and John 3:30. Yet from a Scriptural perspective, this language can unintentionally move in a dangerous direction if it suggests that the Christian life requires the erasure of the self rather than its healing and fulfillment.
The early Church did not believe salvation meant becoming less human. Quite the opposite. They believed Christ came so that humanity might become fully alive.
Irenaeus famously wrote, “The glory of God is a living man.” For him, redemption was not the disappearance of the human person but the restoration of the human person into the fullness of life with God.
This is why the early Church spoke of union, not replacement.
When Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live,” he does not end with “I no longer exist.” He says, “yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” The old, sinful mode of life dies, but the person Paul remains, now filled with the life of Christ.
Similarly, when John the Baptist says in John 3:30, “He must increase, but I must decrease,” he is speaking about his role in salvation history, not about the destruction of the human self. John’s mission was to step aside so the Messiah would be revealed.
The danger of the “empty me of myself” language is that it can unintentionally echo ideas closer to certain Eastern philosophies than to the Christian vision of salvation. Christianity does not teach the annihilation of the self but its transfiguration.
Athanasius expressed the early church vision clearly: “God became man so that man might become god.” This does not mean losing our humanity; it means humanity being filled with the divine life.
Likewise, Maximus the Confessor taught that salvation is the healing of the human will so that it freely cooperates with God. The goal is not the disappearance of the human person but the harmonious union of human life with divine life.
In other words, Christ does not come to erase you.
He comes to restore you.
The false self, our ego driven by fear, pride, and sin, must indeed die. But the true self, created in the image of God, is meant to flourish. The Christian life is not about becoming less of a person; it is about becoming the person you were created to be, now filled with the life of Christ.
So a healthier prayer might be: "Lord, heal what is broken in me, purify what is sinful in me, and fill my life with Your life, so that I may truly live in union with You."
Because in the Scriptural vision of salvation, the goal is not less humanity, but humanity made radiant with God.
