But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. -Philippines 3:7-8
Progress is impossible without change; and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. -George Bernard Shaw
Spencer Johnson in his book, Who Moved My Cheese, uses a parable about two mouse characters and two little people to illustrate the difficulty of change. Each character in the parable reacts differently.
The two mice sense that change is in the air and begin to prepare for it in advance. They actively seek ways to adjust to the change that’s coming and benefit. Their names are Sniff and Scurry.
The first little person named Haw is slow to change, but will do so if he must. It’s never fun to him, and he would prefer to stay where he is. But in time, he does change.
The last little person named Hem is very skeptical of change, and likes things just as they are. He’s a critic who will look for any reason not to change if possible. He will even try to sabotage his attempts to change.
Each of us tends to be like one of these characters. Most would prefer not to change, like Hem. We do anything to avoid it if possible. Especially when it comes to the theological and doctrinal beliefs we hold.
The biggest obstacle is changing our minds about anything. Nothing really happens until we change our way of thinking. This means being honest about what we believe and being willing to deconstruct beliefs that are holding us back.
Changing your mind
The word in New Testament Greek for “repentance” is metanoia. It’s a compound word from meta, which means “together with” and noia, which means “the mind.” Thus, together + mind or change of mind.
Metanoia (repentance) has nothing to do with changing your behavior and going in a different direction. Or cleaning up your act to get God’s favor. It’s a picture of one who’s willing to see when they are in error in their thinking, and are willing to adjust what they believe. This is essential in our journey in Christ. Before there can be a change in outward behavior, there must first be a shift in thinking, a change of mind.
If your theology and doctrine are static, it’s irrelevant
Most churches preach the gospel and the Bible as though they are infallible in their interpretation of it. Denominations prepare “statements of faith” to clearly lay out what they believe so no one will challenge them on those beliefs. But if your doctrine is static, it’s irrelevant. If what you believe is not fluid and changing with greater awareness and insight, then you have put God, who cannot be put into a box, into your own doctrinal box. It’s when we see we’re wrong - that our beliefs need to be challenged - that we have the greatest opportunity for spiritual growth.
The apostle Paul (called Saul at the time) was on the road to Damascus when a light shone from Heaven and knocked him off his horse. He was confronted with the resurrected Christ who He was persecuting. Paul was temporarily blinded by this light and led to Damascus (Acts 9:1-9).
For three days he ate and drank nothing, and had time to sit and think. Think about what? “How could I have been so wrong?” He was a Pharisee, a zealot for the law who had killed Christians to serve God and protect Judaism. Yet he was wrong and actually opposing God! Paul needed to change his mind (metanoia). About what? About everything - and God ended up showing him that.
Pruning and growth
Plants generally need to be pruned in the winter while they are dormant. This allows for the least amount of trauma to the plant. Without pruning, the plant will become overgrown and useless. The same is true for beliefs that are holding us back. Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” This has a spiritual implication, as it was assumed everyone did have ears and could hear. The idea is: “those who are open to the leading of the Spirit in truth, listen” (Mark 4:9).
Jesus was bringing truth to these Jews who were under the law. Truth that was based on grace and a finished work in Him. It was new and required spiritual ears to hear and to comprehend. Just as a plant needs to be pruned, so their religious ideas about God, themselves, and others, needed to be pruned. Their ideas were rooted in Jewish religious traditions - not the revelation of the Spirit based on the finished work of Christ, the Messiah.
This process, called theological deconstruction, can be difficult. Just as the people of Jesus’ time needed to deconstruct their theology (change their minds), we may also need to deconstruct some of our own religious traditions and biases. This then allows us to live at a higher level of consciousness in the Spirit of Christ as He reveals it to us.
This higher level is based on one thing: love. All people in Christ and Christ in all people, which is the unconditional love of God. It’s His unconditional love, agape, that delivers us from the lies of the false self or flesh. The false self that keep us in a rut of defeat, trying harder and then failing again, while feeling despair and a sense of condemnation in the process.
Living from a new paradigm
Life is a constant changing paradigm. Forty years ago, no one knew what an iPhone was, or a personal computer. Telephone booths were common and physical mail was the primary way of communicating with others who lived far away. Then came the personal computer in the mid-eighties, and with it, email. Email revolutionized how we communicated with each other. Ten years later, small phones were developed that could send texts to others with similar phones. This revolutionized how we communicated even more.
In time, you could buy an iPhone and have all the known knowledge of man at your disposal through the internet. The reality of the technology to do these things always existed, but the conscious awareness and understanding of it, and how to use it, only came in the late 90s and early part of the 21st century.
Ever-changing with the never-changing God
God does not change as He has no need to change. He is the eternal I AM, and He will always be. He lives and has need of nothing. However, we humans need to change constantly, especially in our understanding of the identity of God, our own identity, and the identity of others.
God is love (agape). That IS who He is. It’s His identity. Most were taught that He’s holy, just, and angry. That’s true, his holiness, justness, and anger (passion) proceeds from love, compassion, mercy, and empathy. A cursory review of Christ’s life in the gospels makes this clear. Do you see God the Father as PURE and PASSONATE LOVE? In LOVE with YOU? He is and He does!
Your identity is found in Christ Jesus, in His finished work of grace. “In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you” (John 14:20). Nothing outside you defines you, not your past failures, your present or your future. Christ in you is your reality. Do you see that Christ is YOUR LIFE (Colossians 3:3)? He is!
As you are in Christ, so are other people. All things are in Christ, nothing is outside of Him, “And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” (Colossians 1:17). Just as you are loved unconditionally in Christ, so everyone you talk to today and interact with is loved unconditionally in Christ. Do you see them as EQUALS in Christ’s love? Would you love them that way?
Bottom line: Are you willing to consider these truths and to shift your thinking? Changing your mind occurs when you receive a greater revelation of that which already is in the never-changing God.
I encourage you to let the Spirit open your awareness to what already is in Christ. To grow in revelation of how this applies to you, and then gradually to live in a greater consciousness of God, yourself, and others.