The way of sacrifice and denial is the way to abundant Life Scribed by Jay Becker

 Walking with Christ, and being in Christ is about laying down who we are and
the plans and desires of our hearts. Jesus told us that if we want to find life
we must lose our lives - it is that process of dying ourselves and daily
picking up our cross.

Yes - this is about self sacrifice, and looking from the human side of this it
does look lonely and hard. Yet, this really is the only path to true liberty and
the abundant life.

When He walked on the earth Jesus did nothing from His own initiative, but
only did that which He saw His Father doing. He was not about self
promotion, or His own personal "bucket list" - for He truly did find life, even
abundant life in that close and personal relationship with the Father.
He lead the way for all of us to also enter into the abundant life.

In the garden, before being taken to the cross - He agonized, He sweat
blood, and had a serious interaction with the Father about what He was
going to enter into. He resolved this by further committing Himself to the
Lord, by saying not my will, but Your will be done.

This is the very lesson He taught His followers to pray (Matt 6:9-13 and Luke
11:2-4) to focus on relationship with the Father, to surrender, and to pray
that His
heavenly will be done on the earth.... (and more)
This is where Jesus really did enter into joy, the joy that was set before Him.
He is the pattern and the example for the way to way into and with the
Father, to have abundant life - and to make a way for everyone else to follow
in His footsteps

Heb 12:1-2
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let
us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God.