The Original Inception

By Isaac Tan, 20, Singapore

Many were raving over Christopher Nolan’s latest mind-blasting film, Inception. Slated as the blockbuster of the year, it did not disappoint. I, myself, watched the film twice over.

As with all shows like this, moviegoers came out either really distraught at their utter confusion or fully convinced that they knew what it was all about. But this really isn’t that important is it? After all, the ability to differentiate one dream from another left us in limbo more than any other conundrum.

The one conversation that stuck with me was while Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Ariadne (Ellen Page) were sitting by a quaint café in Paris. This is what transpired:

Cobb: You create the world of the dream, you bring the subject into that dream, and they fill it
with their subconscious.

Ariadne: How could I ever acquire enough detail to make them think that it is reality?

Cobb: Well dreams, they feel real while we’re in them, right? It’s only when we wake up that we realize how things are actually strange. Let me ask you a question: you, you never really remember the beginning of a dream do you? You always wind up right in the middle of what’s going on.

Ariadne: I guess, yeah.

Cobb: So how did we end up here?

Ariadne: Well we just came from the a…

Cobb: Think about it Ariadne, how did you get here? Where are you right now?

Ariadne: We’re dreaming?

This conversation is an interesting one because it got me thinking: How did I come to a conclusion and an understanding of my faith in Jesus Christ?

Yes, I grew up in a Christian home and I’ve heard the gospel many times before but what convicted me to believe in Christ? What made me believe that God came as a man and died to redeem me out of sin and into eternal life? Am I in a dream?

Thankfully, God’s Word does give us an insight to this mysterious revelation of truth.

In 1 Corinthians 2:10, it says, “But it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For His Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets” (NLT).

“These things” referred to God’s revealing wisdom in Christ and His salvation plan from before the ages (1 Cor. 2:7, Eph. 1:4). It was by the Holy Spirit who revealed these things to us that we have gained insight into the saving grace of God.

God, according to the richness of His mercy and grace, revealed Himself to us while we were yet sinners and He did so by the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would be with us while He went away. He would be our Advocate who will never leave us (John 14:16).

He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him,
because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him.
But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you.
John 14:17

In our sinful nature, we would not naturally search after God wholeheartedly (1 Corinthians 2:14). Rather, we would seek to serve our needs. It was God who came and revealed Himself to us and opened our eyes to recognize Him. Now, we who believe have been granted the privilege of both knowing Him and having the Holy Spirit dwelt within us.

God doesn’t merely reside in us alone, He helps us to understand Him through His Word. John 14:26 says, “But when the Father sends the Advocate as My representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”

All that we understand about our Christian faith, from reading God’s Word to accepting it wholeheartedly, is really the work of the Holy Spirit. He helps us learn these things. More importantly, He enables us to.

The idea of “inception”—placing a thought in someone’s mind—is not a new concept. This has been integral in God’s salvation plan. However, God’s version of inception is not nearly as “difficult” as described—placing an idea in someone’s head and convincing him that it was his idea to begin with.

God opened our once spiritually dead eyes to see His goodness in our lives. There was no need to make it seem like it was our idea because we would never have been that brilliant. God openly gave us the idea and told us that it was His and His to begin with.

When I considered this, I was grateful all over again for the gospel and the fact the He thought of me. He knew that I would not come to Him on my own. He came to me and gave me insight to this salvation that I now have. It wasn’t a rash decision but it was made before the foundations of the world.

Now, I am enabled to see what He has allowed me to see. Everything He has provided is a gift and I’m glad that I was presented this privilege to be called His child.

God performed “inception” on us and I’m so glad He did.

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