"We're all here to do what we're all here to do."
The Oracle, in “The Matrix Reloaded.”
The “Matrix” movies dabble with the notion that what you think reality is . . . isn’t. Maybe reality lies beyond what you perceive or presume. A “matrix moment,” then, is when you wake up and begin to see reality in a whole new light. And seeing truth anew, you get a new life-saving mission.
Yes, appearances can deceive. That’s why Paul wrote, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7). The idea that there is more to reality than what we see is fundamental to faith. Perhaps conversion to Christ is like a “matrix moment.”
Speaking of Christ, Neo (Keanu Reeves), in the “matrix” movies, was a messianic figure with a life-saving mission. Other characters referred to Neo as “the One” long before he knew what that meant. To help him get a grip on his new (
neo) reality and mission, the luminous
Oracle once told him, "We're all here to do what we're all here to do."
Some matrix moment.
Okay, so there’s a big difference between “reel” life and real life. It’s more entertaining to spin reality than to face it. Imagination, more than reality, is what makes a sci-fi flick tick. I enjoy them too.
But real conversion to Christ goes deeper than a “matrix moment.” It begins not when new lights go on, but when old realities are recognized. It starts when we face the stark reality of our sin and embrace the conviction that Jesus acted purposefully, concretely and historically to forgive us. Then comes the Holy Spirit and the lights go on.
The best thing about real Christianity is that you or I did not make it up. It was planned and executed beyond all our imaginative resources. Certainly, my imagination had nothing to do with it.
On film, reality is often imagined to be something unexpected, untamed and under the surface--hidden within (or beyond) a matrix of intricate illusions or a labyrinth of puzzling options. In Scripture, however, reality is simple: You were lost; now you’re found. You sinned; Jesus saved!
Imagined reality lets you traffic in fantasy and pretend it‘s real. It puts truth on a leash and you in the lead. An over-riding assumption today is that truth is up for grabs. Perception is reality! Vantage point is everything! Create your own truth! Consequently, image, style and fashion are all the rage. Superficiality sells! And life’s meaning is sought in moods molded by special effects, sound bytes, pulsating music, celebrity status and exposure to skin.
Meanwhile, dictionaries collect dust as we re-define the basics (like
beauty, marriage, art, morality, love and
faith) for ourselves. Beauty becomes anything and nothing at the same time. Marriage is any union(s) that claims a connection with “love” (Indeed, some dictionaries have been altered to redefine marriage). Art is, as Andy Warhol snorted, “anything you can get away with.” Morality is a political football. Love is lust. And faith is whatever makes you feel good. Everyone gets to have their own “matrix moment” to redefine reality according to their imaginative preferences or agenda.
But those who exalt perception and imagination over reality are in for a wake up call, sooner or later. To borrow from the
Brown Bomber (Joe Louis), you can run but you can’t hide. Alter dictionaries all you want, but “...a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” (Shakespeare,
Romeo and Juliet). Real life is too short for pretense. Reality will chase you like the turtle chased the hare.
In the real world, beyond movies, novels, television and college courses, we eventually have to answer to reality and face the truth. When Pilate asked, “What is truth?” and then turned away from Jesus (“Truth” Himself), he was just hitting the spiritual snooze button.
Imagined reality and “personal” truth yields a culture awash in fantasy, fakery and fraud. Like the sorcerer‘s apprentice, we conjure up a monster unrestrained by reality. Journalists create their own truth with forged documents to back it up. Authors pin dogmatic claims on single anonymous sources. Academics twist “research” for a “good” cause. Opportunists “find” fingers in their (fast) food while lawyers rush in where angels fear to tread. Athletes enhance their performance by altering the “reality” of their bloodstream. Imaginative resumes embellish who we are (or were). Terrorists fancy themselves as soldiers while pretending to be civilians. And pornography leaves real women with husbands who prefer imagination to reality.
Too many of us today live in our own personal truth--a tortured truth shaped by the wizard behind the curtain (ourselves).
Christian faith offers a way out. Paul wrote, “The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber...” (Romans 13:1). Stop dreaming and take a stand on things that last. This rules out both material objects (that will decay) and imaginative fantasies (that will deceive). What is left standing in the end are realities like sacrificial love, forgiveness, God‘s eternal Word and the need to worship Him. I did not dream these things up.
Christians serve a real Creator who came down to a real world to confront real sin, die on a real cross and rise again to redeem sinners and rule over a kingdom that lasts forever. These claims are rooted in real history based on reliable documents and reasonable evidence. This calls for real repentance, real virtue, real hope, real joy and real love in a real world made by God.
Matrix moments come and go but conversion to Christ is forever.
- See an article on not letting Hollywood define your reality at: "The Oldest Profession."
Joel Mark Solliday, M.Div., is the editor of Campus CrossWalk and the pulpit minister of the Brooklyn Center Church of Christ in Minnesota. A Pepperdine graduate, he later worked in their Campus Life Office and at ACU as a Missionary in Residence. He earned his M.Div. at Fuller Theological Seminary.
