Inception: Ultimate Reality

                I just watched the movie “Inception” for the second and it blew my mind…again! It is a great movie that revolves around the issue of reality verses fiction.  It caused each member of the audience to seriously consider “What is reality?”  The main character fought a constant battle to decipher between what was real and what was not.  However, this struggle was self-inflicting.  Let me explain: Rather than ‘take his thoughts captive’ and clearly define reality, he allowed himself to entertain illusions and dreams that he knew weren’t real.  He chose to let his mind dwell on what he wishes was real.  Because he spends so much time there, these thoughts are naturally on the forefront of his mind; they are invading his subconscious!  What we think about the most will begin in the thoughts as a matter of will, but they’ll ultimately take up residency in the subconscious of our minds.  These will become our reality.  So what are we thinking about?  If we want to live confused about ultimate reality, all we have to do is crowd our minds with the foolishness of this world, that claims to be all that there is:
            Foolish Fiction #1:  There is a teaching that “what you see is what you get…Period.”  This naturalist approach to life is opposed to Real Life: The kingdom of God.  The laws of nature are real, but only because they find their being in the higher reality of God’s existence.  But it is so easy to forget this and blur the lines of reality. 
            Foolish Fiction #2:   To some, reality is having a dream and pursuing it with no restrain.  This is the “You can have whatever you like” mentality.  Their reality is defined by an intense, life-long pursuit of dreams, ambitions, accomplishments and success.  If they just work hard enough, if they just reach the next step, they could make their dreams come true and really be satisfied.  If only they could have enough…Only Jesus can quench the thirsty longing of each man’s soul (John 4:14).
            Foolish Fiction #3:  A third and final dream that tempts us to ignore reality is the “Fairy Tale.”  We so easily write out the script of our lives to be a fairy tale, starring: Me, Mr./Mrs. Perfect, 3-5 beautiful children, Spot (The Dog), nice suburban home, with a secure and steady job.  There is nothing wrong with this picture, if it is what God has in store for you.  But what about the countless people, self included, that are living for this! This dream can dominate our thoughts so much that we are convinced of it as the reality that affects our every step.  May we seek first God and his kingdom and His righteousness.  May we count it all as lost and consider all these things rubbish in order to gain Christ, know Christ and be found in Him. 
            But to keep a tight grip on life and reality, we must start with the mind.  What we allow our minds to dwell on the most will become our reality.  In 1 Thessalonians 2:2, Paul declares, “We had boldness in our God…” Paul was convinced of the reality of God and His gospel message.  Are we?  Are we meditating and contemplating the truths of the Bible so much that they are our reality.  Are we convinced of the truths of Scripture to the point that we allow them to have influence on they way we actually live our lives? Or do we speak about them and know them as intellectual theorems, while keeping them disconnected from the reality we truly live in?  What are we convinced of?  What can we boldly declare as fact, as reality?  Jesus Christ, the son of God, has come to take away the sins of all who believe in Him and reconcile them to God.  Not because of own striving to earn it, but simply because of His own grace and beautiful mercy-FACT.