25.4 | Section 4 Renewal of Identity is the Ultimate Purpose

Section 4 | Renewal of Identity is the Ultimate Purpose

Becoming the person we are meant to be—responding to the calling God has implanted in our lives—is not merely for the sake of achieving success in social roles. The deeper significance lies in this: in the process of fulfilling our mission, our identity is reshaped.

Confucianism in China speaks of "Gewu Zhizhi" (the investigation of things to extend knowledge). So-called Gewu is to investigate the inherent laws behind things; Zhizhi is to touch the "Tao" (the Way) as a result. Every person’s nature is different, and the "things" they "investigate" are different, yet the paths leading toward the "Tao" converge.

The theological explanation is even more direct:

God has placed a unique calling within everyone. When we submit to this calling and become the person we were created to be, this is Gewu. The "thing" here is not an external object, but our own life mission; and the "Tao" is God.

We fulfill our mission in order to return to God. This is a consensus in the depths of both Eastern and Western thought:

The completion of the mission is the renewal of identity.

This new identity contains a triple transformation:

1. I return to the Father’s house and no longer wander. The root of existence is finally settled, no longer seeking a sense of security from the world.
2. The Ego is dissolved, and life is carried by the Holy Spirit. The old "I" gives way, and a new life lives within me.
3. I am connected with God; God is in me, and I am in God. I no longer rely on actions to prove my worth but receive worth from the Source.

This renewal of identity is the ultimate success.

It is the return from the state of original sin and self-rebellion to the Father’s embrace;

Like water finally finding its way back to the sea, or a traveler finally arriving before his own front door.

From this moment on, the words of Jesus become a real experience:

"Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these."

You no longer have scarcity, and you no longer struggle by your own self;

Because you and the Father are one.