Holy Rewired - "Being You"

The final chapter in this book is very key to the rest of the book. To a certain degree, you could take all that the author has said in the book up till this point and humanistic-ally make it work (especially if you're a disciplined person), managing to change some undesirable or destructive or non-edifying behavior and yet not experience genuine core inner healing and transformation.

Phillips starts the chapter saying, "...in order for people to fully rewire their lives, there has to be a change in who they understand themselves to be...The problem is that few people understand who and whose they are...God provides an infinite, limitless perspective that expresses the infinite love of the infinite Creator to His finite created beings. As the Creator, He knows everything. He defines love because He is love. He defines life because He is life. As the One in whom everything fits and is held together, God is able to provide a perspective that the created cannot hold. This point of reference provides an absolute measure, a true north, not based on a limited understanding or cultural norms. It is safe to say, then, that a finite person's true identity is only found in the context of a relationship with the infinite God, His people, and with the scriptures."

He goes on to write about the creation story and the fall of humans through disobedience, resulting in confusion about our true identity. This is true of every individual, and it's a collective confusion as well..."As long as that identity of the first Adam remains in control, a person may change his or her behaviors in the short term, but long-term, holistic change will be evasive."

We're aware that without deep inner transformation, the change of outer behavior merely changes one addiction for another. The author refers to this as "addiction transfer."

"The Bible teaches that wholeness does not come primarily from changing our behavior but from being 'in Christ.' Only then can the journey towards wholeness begin. The expressions 'in Christ', 'in the Beloved', 'in him,' or similar phrases are used over one hundred times in Scripture to refer to Christ-followers. In one sense, 'in Christ' indicates a place...It is a positional transition. We are moved into a relationship with Christ. It also indicates an ontological change, or a change relating to essence or the nature of our being. By being 'in Christ', the Christ-follower has been given a new footing for his or her existence. The person has been recreated in, and into Christ." ...we are infused with the divine human life of Jesus Himself (this is not referring to becoming gods).

As we cooperate with the Spirit of God in the process of becoming transformed into the image of Jesus, we become more and more truly human because Jesus was the human we were designed to be in Genesis 1:26-27. "...the image of Christ is the greatest thirst of our being. It is the most profound yearning of a person's life, though in our brokenness, we fill it with all kinds of inadequate substitutes...This is the work of the Spirit in our lives...II Cor. 3:18 (NLT): 'So all of us who have had the veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord - who is the Spirit - makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.'

"This process will take place in those areas where we are not yet conformed into that image...Through some channel, such as the scriptures, worship, teaching, a friend, or some other event, the Spirit of God will probe an area where we are not conformed to the image of Christ...It is these areas of our life that Jesus points to when he calls us to take up our cross."

(Watchman Nee says in his book, "Release of the Spirit", that the study and knowledge of the Scriptures or the reading of truth in books is not sufficient to deal with these areas of non-conformity to Jesus' image; only difficult circumstances of life in the hands of the Holy Spirit are sufficient to break us and mold us into His image. I (Nita) can testify to the truth of this.)

"We must give God permission to do the work God wants to do with us. Transformation is not forced upon us...Though God will continue to press those points, knocking at the door of our lives, he will not force open the doors. The writer George MacDonald writes, 'He watches to see the door move from within.'

"Spiritual formation is the great reversal: from being the subject who controls all other things to being a person who is shaped by the presence, purpose and power of God in all things...It moves us from 'acting to bring about the desired results in our lives to being acted upon by God and responding in ways that allow God to bring about God's purposes.'...It means that we relinquish our self-generated expectations..."

The author ends the chapter underscoring the importance of becoming childlike, going through the process of unlearning old ways of thinking and acting, unlearning emotions that resulted from painful experiences, unlearning old habits that are comfortable and familiar to us - but also learning new ways of thinking and acting. It is a rebirthing. Now as God adopted children, He walks with us through the process of unwiring the old fearful thoughts and ways that came with our biological family ties and rewiring our thoughts and ways according to the new family ties where our identity is that of a wanted and loved child cared for 24/7 by the infinite Creator Father.

It's a lifelong journey which won't be fully completed until the next age but we can have a good start in this age by the grace of God.

In my continuing personal journey into wholeness I find that the simple prayer of the psalmist in Psalm 119:94 is profound - it acknowledges who and Whose I am and my need for transformation and renewing. I pray it often: "I am Yours; save me..."