Chapter 37
Nobody Makes Their First Jump
So you’ve taken your “leap of faith” off
the diving board, into the refreshing “pool of God.” You’ve begun the process of transformation;
you’re becoming a beautiful butterfly.
No longer a worthless lump of coal; you’re evolving into a valuable
diamond. You’re consistently washing
your brain, keeping it as clean as possible.
You’re progressing in your “Holy Spirit” training, moving closer and
closer to black-belt status.
Congratulations!
You
can now look back at your life with a sense of pride, knowing how much progress
you’ve made. You’re not the same
person. You can finally appreciate the
wisdom offered by Saint Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore,
if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old is gone, the new has
come!” You’ve become adjusted to
your “new self,” and have developed a steady “new” routine.
And
then it happens ...
You
fall.
In
the movie The Matrix, Neo is the
savior figure, sent here to “save the world.”
Before becoming awakened, Neo is just your average guy, working an
average job. After being pulled out of
the Matrix (awakened), Neo is put through a series of training programs. The most important training exercise is
called the “Jump Program.” After his
training, his teacher (Morpheus) thinks he might be ready to complete the jump.
“You
have to let it all go, Neo,” says Morpheus.
“Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free
your mind.” Morpheus proceeds to
demonstrate the jump, leaping from the roof of one skyscraper to the next.
He
encourages Neo to do the same.
All
of the other “awakened” crew members crowd around to watch. “What if he makes it?” asks Mouse.
“No
one’s ever made their first jump,” Tank responds.
“I
know, I know,” counters Mouse. “But what
if he does?”
“He
won’t,” says Apoc.
Now,
one would think, that if Neo is “The One,” or the savior figure, he’d be able
to make his first jump. Surely, the man
responsible for saving the world would be able to achieve something that all
the other “awakened” humans could not.
Where they couldn’t make their first jump, Neo would be able to.
Still
burdened with fear and disbelief, Neo tries to psyche himself up. Part of him is starting to believe that he’s “The
One,” but part of him still identifies with his past. Neo was a computer-hacker, selling illegal
pirated programs for profit. After
showing up late at his “real” job, he was scolded by his boss for thinking “the
rules didn’t apply to him.” In one
reality he didn’t care about the rules; in the other reality, the awareness of
rules held him back.
Neo
attempts his first jump and falls.
The
awakened crew is disappointed. They
argue over what it means. Surely, if he
was “The One,” he would have been successful in his first jump, right? Others say it means nothing, because nobody
makes their first jump.
I’m
reminded of Luke 2:52, which says, “Jesus
grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” This indicates that Jesus grew in wisdom; he wasn’t born “all-wise”
or “all-knowing.” His wisdom and strength was cultivated over a period of time.
In
Hebrews 5:8 - 5:9, it reads: “Although he was a son, he learned
obedience through what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source
of eternal salvation for all who obey him.”
In other words, even Jesus had
to “learn obedience” through what he suffered (trials of life) before becoming “perfect,”
or achieving Christ-Consciousness, thereby eliminating the doubt and fear that
prevent miracles.
This
clearly shows that Jesus went through a process of metamorphosis. If Jesus were already a “butterfly,” there
would be nothing for him to “learn.”
There would be no reason for him to “grow.” There would be no need to “become perfect,”
because he would’ve already been
perfect.
So,
if the savior figure in the Biblical movie (Jesus) had to go through the process in order to create his
valuable diamond destiny, what makes you think you’re any different? It was Jesus, in John 14:12, who said: “I
tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been
doing. He will do even greater things
than these, because I am going to the Father.”
As
you begin to “humanize” the life and message of Jesus, it makes the application
of his teachings more practical. Once
you can believe in Jesus as a human being
just like you, you can no longer make excuses about why you’re not
maximizing your potential.
He
maximized his. He said you could
too.
In
my opinion (and according to Jesus’ words), we all have the ability to reach
the “divine” level of consciousness. You’ve
likely already experienced this, whenever you’ve been full of the Holy
Spirit. Whenever you’re in a place of
indescribable joy, love, compassion or forgiveness, you’re in that place of “divine
consciousness.”
Jesus
was able to stay consistently connected to
the Holy Spirit, thus achieving consistent Christ-Consciousness, or the consciousness
of God in the flesh. According to what
we’ve read in the Scriptures listed above, he too, went through the process of metamorphosis. Contrary to popular belief, Jesus wasn’t born
a diamond. He “grew in wisdom and
stature,” he “learned obedience,” and he was “made perfect” through the process
of life.
You
can achieve the same thing.
After
you grow strong enough to swim laps in the pool of God, you’re going to be
tempted to return to your old sun burnt lifestyle. You’re likely to forget about the scorching
heat and blistering sun. Your sun burnt
buddies will convince you that life wasn’t so bad in the heat. You’ll likely fall victim to peer pressure
and temptation. There’s a good chance
you won’t make your “first jump.”
This
is normal.
Nobody
makes their first jump (leap of faith).
The
key is to get back into the pool.
Sometimes, you have to remind yourself why you chose to leave the
blistering heat of the sun. And this is
okay. Whenever you “fall,” just use it
as a learning tool. Use it as a tool to “grow
in wisdom.” Allow your mistakes to help
you “learn obedience.”
“Falling”
provides the perfect context to measure “where you were” in relation to “where
you are now.” Try not to beat yourself
up for “falling.” Just make sure you don’t
stay on the ground—get back into the pool.
A
popular proverb says, “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
My Truth says ... nobody makes their
first jump (leap of faith). You’re going
to fall down from time to time. Don’t be
discouraged. It’s a natural part of the process. Learn from it and get back up.
What
does Your Truth say?