Getting to know God - The One True God, Creator of everything- is pretty much the ultimate.  It is the greatest, highest, most desirable thing ever.  And God Himself wants us to know Him, and to experience the life, peace, joy, and love that are all a part of a relationship with Him.  So what stops us from receiving all of that if God wants to give it to us?  Sometimes, it’s simply a little bit of arithmetic: 

Me + myself + I = no room for God!

There has to be less of you to gain more of Jesus… Every time you deny yourself, it is a form of preparing yourself to release more of His life in you. (excerpt from Feed The Seed & Meet The Need pt.2, by Dr. Chester C. Pipkin)

Think of it this way: If I have a jar full of marbles, there’s no room to put diamonds into it.  Even though God is offering to fill it with valuable, precious gems, if I won’t remove any marbles, then I’m going to lose out big time.  On the other hand, the more marbles I remove, the more diamonds I can receive.  Jesus actually addresses this very thing:

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? (Luke 9:23-25 NASB95)

If I refuse to give up my marbles, I don’t give God a chance to give me the much more precious gift He is offering.  And exchanging my own selfish desires for more of Jesus and the life He brings is an even better trade than diamonds for marbles.  We just have to do the math!