The Truman Show.

The Matrix.

Inception.

Three very different movies, and yet three movies with a central concept in common. Each of these films is about a false reality. In various ways, the characters in these movies are confronted with the fact that what they thought was real was, actually, not at all real. It was some fabricated version of reality put in place in order to bend people to a way of thinking or behavior.

The conflict in the movies, then, is about escape – it’s about discovering the truth of existence, and then making a choice between living with the lie, or pressing forward into what is actual reality.

A lot of blog posts and sermons have been written relating this concept to Christianity, and I can see how. As Christians, we live by faith. Faith is the central component of our existence; it is the lens through which we view reality. As such, we do not live by sight. We believe there are important, deeper, spiritual things happening around us all the time. God is moving and working in a thousand different ways every second, bending all history to His will and purpose in redemption, and only a fraction of these ways are actually visible. Even those that are visible can easily be misunderstood and misinterpreted given our limited vantage point. In some ways, becoming a Christian is accepting these realities. Or, through another lens, about rejecting at least certain parts of our known reality in favor of another one.

But perhaps a better way to understand this is not in terms of rejecting a false reality, but instead moving to a deeper level of reality. Even further, maybe this is what life in Christ is like – progressively moving to a deeper level of reality. Let me give three examples:

1. God’s love

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, would give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength (Eph. 1:17-19).

This was Paul’s prayer for the church at Ephesus. But notice Paul was not praying for God’s love to increase; that’s because Paul knew what we do – that God has not withheld any of His love from us. He doesn’t have an extra storehouse waiting for those who prove themselves to Him, but instead has poured out the whole of His love for us in Christ. What Paul is praying for is an ever increasing awareness of that love. That we would, day by day, have a greater sense of the reality of the love that is already ours.

2. God’s presence

“Be strong and courageous; don’t be terrified or afraid of them. For the Lord your God is the one who will go with you; he will not leave you or abandon you” (Deut. 31:6).

As Joshua was beginning to take Moses’ place as the leader of Israel, both Joshua and the people had understandable concerns. But the Lord wanted them to be encouraged, though they would face war and opposition. His encouragement was not that the road would be easy; it was not that they would not suffer losses; it was that the Lord’s presence would be constant.

In a similar way, as Jesus commissioned us, He reminded us:

“All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:17-20).

The question for every Christian is not whether or not God is with us; He is. He has promised us He is. The question is how aware we are of His presence. In this, too, as we walk day by day with Jesus, we have a greater sense of the reality of God’s presence that is already with us.

3. Jesus’ authority

For this reason God highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:9-11).

Jesus, even now, is sitting triumphantly at the right hand of the Father. He has won, and He is the rightful King. And yet, we look all around us and see everything but the acknowledgment of Jesus’ authority. But there is a great difference between the reality of what is, and the acknowledgment of that reality. As we continue to walk with the Lord, through, we will find in us a greater sense of this reality. Like God’s love, like God’s presence, so also will we have an ever increasing sense of Jesus’ authority over all.

This is the Christian experience – not attaining what lacks, but instead coming to an ever increasing understanding of what already is in Christ.