The Wrapping That Makes Us Faster

When neuroscientist George Bartzokis at UCLA studied how humans develop skill, he discovered something remarkable about repetition. Every time we repeat an action — a piano scale, a free throw, a language phrase — cells called oligodendrocytes wrap the corresponding nerve fiber in a fatty substance called myelin. Each layer of myelin insulation makes the electrical signal travel faster and more efficiently. What once required agonizing concentration eventually becomes second nature — not because we try less, but because our biology has physically reshaped itself around the repeated action.

Obedience to God works the same way in the life of faith.

The first time we choose forgiveness over bitterness, it feels almost impossible. The first time we tithe when the budget is tight, our hands tremble. The first time we bite our tongue instead of retaliating, every muscle resists.

But each act of obedience wraps another layer around the pathway between our hearts and the will of the Almighty. What once demanded everything from us gradually becomes who we are. The apostle Paul called this being "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2). He didn't say it happened all at once. He used a present tense — an ongoing, layer-by-layer transformation.

Obedience is rarely easy the first time. But our God, in His kindness, designed us so that every yes to Him makes the next yes a little more natural.