Faith: A Lesson from Mission Impossible

There’s a scene towards the end of the film Mission Impossible: Fallout, which is quite interesting not just because of the context in the film but because there’s a bit more to it than meets the eye.

You can watch a part of the scene here from the 0:45 to 0:58 mark.

Let’s trackback a little- before Ethan gets on a helicopter and eventually crashes on a cliff, he tells them to find the bombs while he gets the detonator. They keep asking him what he’s doing and all he says is this, “I’ll get the detonator. I won’t let you down.”

Let’s look at the characters involved here before moving on:

• Ethan Hunt is the protagonist of the Mission Impossible series and is their leader who has brought the team together. He gives them some instructions and then heads off without further communication. They call out to him but there’s no response.
• Luther Stickell is the only other character who has been there since the very first Mission Impossible film. He knows Ethan the best and has been on the most missions with him.
• Benji Dunn was introduced in the 3^rd Mission Impossible film. He knows Ethan but certainly not as well as Luther. He wasn’t a part of the original core team.
• We were introduced to Ilsa Faust in the 5^th Mission Impossible film and since that film, she’s feigned her love for Ethan, tricked and betrayed him on crucial missions.

Now let’s get into the meat and bones of the illustration. Let’s think of these characters this way:

• Ethan Hunt – God
• Luther Stickell – A seasoned Christian
• Benji Dunn – A relatively new Christian who hasn’t really been out there for long
• Ilsa Faust – The distractor/tempter

Stick with the analogy a bit here and think of your walk with Christ.

Christ is handling sin, death, and Satan himself because we can’t. He has fought and He has won. But God/Christ has given us a mission. It’s almost like He said – “The world you are looking at is a broken and fallen one. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to diffuse the ticking time bomb of death itself. Find those who do not know me and tell them of the saving grace of Christ before they are lost forever. This message will no longer be needed at the time of my Father’s choosing.” (Try reading that in the same electronic voice from the Mission Impossible films).

Christ is seated at the right hand of God. We can’t see Him and yet He is working. He has given us a mission and we tend to fret. Seasoned Christians lead the charge and do not doubt the work of God and the assurance that He will do what He has promised. All Christians, regardless of how long they’ve known the Lord are involved in executing this mission. Sometimes we call out to God and are seemingly met with silence. This would be OK except for one thing. It breeds doubt.

The tempter (Satan) is also at work. He is an expert in human behaviour and knows just who to target and how to do it. He does not always go for the seasoned Christian but starts speaking to the “weaker” ones. He doesn’t outright say that God is lying but he causes us to doubt.

“Benji, how do we know if He’s got the key?” Ilsa asks. This causes Benji to question Ethan as well, even though he knows Ethan and his capabilities better than Ilsa.

“He’ll get it. He’ll get it done.” Luther silences them.

The reason this scene really stands out is because the only difference between Luther and Benji (and also Ilsa) is faith. That’s it. Just faith.

The scene itself is a really apt illustration of faith even though the filmmakers themselves might not have intended it to be.

This is exactly why we have been given a great cloud of witnesses. These aren’t just people in the past but people around us. People who have trusted and witnessed. People who have faith and have experienced God’s faithfulness.

Our faith wavers and Satan latches on to that and fuels the fire of doubt. It is a fire that, if left unchecked, really consumes faith. But when we look back at God and all that He has done and all that He continues to do in our own lives and also in the lives of fellow believers around us, our faith is greatly strengthened. We need the rebuking voice that firmly says “He’ll get it done” even when God seems silent and our lives might seem to be on the brink of disaster.

But what exactly is faith?

There’s a scene from the season 1 of the TV show, The Boys that contains an interesting statement. I won’t embed it here because of the language used in it but it’s available on YouTube.

This clip has an interesting line- “You shouldn’t need proof. You should just believe because I say so. Because you have faith.”

This might seem perfectly reasonable at first glance but let’s look at the truth behind the statement.

According to the Oxford dictionary, faith is “Strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof.”

Notice the phrase “rather than proof”. The implication is that faith is without proof. But wait. What does the Bible say?

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

So, the Bible says that faith is evidential. It is not without proof. God has not called us to subscribe to a blind faith.

If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 1 Corinthians 15:14

But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 1 Corinthians 15:20

There you have it! Faith isn’t baseless and blind as the world might have us believe.

But how do you get faith?

So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17

Well, you say, I listen to the word of Christ and keep attending meetings and participate in all sorts of activities, then why do I still not experience faith?

Why are there doubts?

There’s a scene from the first season of Money Heist that might just answer this. Unfortunately, a clip for this particular scene wasn’t available.

The gang has been in the mint for more than two days and they’re starting to get anxious. That’s when Rio contacts Raquel and she asks him to betray the team in exchange for a lenient sentence. The following flashback reveals the training they had received to deal with this.

“They’ll tempt you with a better future, with a shorter sentence. Divide and conquer. This slogan helped a little town in Italy take over the entire world. Later it helped Napoleon. Now it’s going to help the police on this case. They’re going to take advantage of any contact in order to tempt one of us. After you’ve been in there for 48 hours, that’s when it will start- the anguish, the negativity. And that’s the moment they will go for the weakest link on our team.” The Professor.

Distractions lead to doubts.

This tactic of using distractions to make us fall is one that the Bible warns us of as well – But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. Mark 4:19

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:3-7

“Once you go in no one can get you out but me. No one.” – The Professor.

There is only one true escape or hope of freedom from doubts and distractions. Christ Himself.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him. Though you do not now see Him, you believe in Him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 1 Peter 1:3-9

That’s what faith really is- an assured hope based on evidence.

Read part 2 here- Spider-man and a Leap of Faith.