Published February 18, 2002
In the Matrix, lead character, Neo, has to learn to walk by faith, not by sight, if he is to fulfil his destiny as The One.
With help from a John the Baptist like Morpheus, he discovers that what he thought was the real world is little more than façade, and that by coming to grips with the real real world, he can begin a life with “no boundaries and no borders”.
It takes the whole movie for this to happen and there are various steps along the way as Neo (which means change or new) trains his mind and senses to see differently.
Many other movies and novels of our time make use of the same concept, perhaps none more obviously than the Star Wars series that features Jedi knights learning to trust the Force, and cooperate with it rather than control movements and actions.
The Harry Potter stories and movie are another example of a seemingly ordinary person awakening to a great reality that they must learn to live in.
The huge popularity of such narratives surely points to a longing in our own hearts for transcendence, for something more than meets the eye. It is not so much escapism as a longing for dreams to come true, for our heartfelt beliefs to be enough to transform our circumstances.
It would almost seem (and I’m sure it’s true) we are made with a hunger to believe and to need more than just material things
Interestingly it was the Bible, some 2000 years ago, that first suggested we should walk be faith not by sight.
As Neo and Harry Potter and Froddo and Indiana Jones and Luke Skywalker all learn to walk by faith, it is no different to what Christians have been encouraged to do for generations.
“That’s okay for the movies,” you say, but how do we apply this idea to everyday life, and does it have a place? Shouldn’t we just accept life as a material, physical existence and make the most of it?
We should do both – accept, enjoy, and struggle with our physical existence while also discovering and developing a (greater) spiritual existence accessed through a relationship with Jesus by faith.
It’s like this. We are faced by a problem, challenge, change or opportunity and will need to respond in some way.
We have at least three choices. We could choose to forget the situation, pretend it’s not that important, that it will sort itself out, that it has got nothing to do with us. This is façade, not faith, and at best delays a decision, at worst allows events to overwhelm us or simply pass us by. We may feel more comfortable responding like this, but in the long run, we will be worse off, whether we realise it or not.
Another common response is fear. This shows itself in many ways – sometimes as a “fainting” where we become helpless when confronted with the situation and succumb to being a victim or just a passenger. Or we can respond with fury that is based in fear – that our world is going to be disturbed and unsettled – even in the approaching situation is positive. Or we can become frantic, doing a thousand different things in the hope the right response is found, motivated by fear and so ultimately negatively oriented.
The third option as we face life’s challenges is faith. Here we fully acknowledge what lies before us, resisting the temptation to hide behind a façade or fly off in fear.
We choose to accept there is a greater reality – in the case of a Christian this reality is God’s love, mercy, presence and provision. Seeing this greater truth with the eyes of faith produces a rest in our inner world that is not dependent on circumstances.
We look with eyes of faith and see not just the problem (the Empire’s fighter pilots or agents of the Matrix) or opportunity but the awesome resources of God whose word to us is “Do not fear” and “Do not forget that I am with you”.
When the Bible says “walk by faith not be sight” it is really saying, “believe what God (in his word and by his Spirit) says about this situation, about your life, about the world and see from that perspective.” It is saying, “Believe what God says more than what your feelings, your circumstances and sometimes, your friends, tell you.”
This allows us to live fully functional lives in the here and now, with one eye on the future when that greater spiritual reality of God’s perfect love finally sheds the imperfection all around us.
Don’t wait for heaven to experience this, walk by faith today. Just make sure your faith is in the One who is eternally faithful, and eternally worthy of our faith. NO less than our Creator, no less than his Son who entered our world to model and give access to a life lived by faith in God.
If you enjoyed The Matrix, or Harry Potter or Star Wars, then read the Bible, particularly the story of Jesus' life, and you’ll discover something more real than just a story.
By the way, for a study of the parallels of The Matrix to the events of Jesus life, visit http://awesomehouse.com/matrix