Spider-man and A Leap of Faith

Part 1 dealt with what faith is all about. But that still leaves a couple of things unanswered.

But how do I know I have faith?

Let’s take a cue from Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse

“It’s a leap of faith. That’s all it is, Miles. A leap of faith.”

Does the Bible have anything to say? You bet!

And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you.” Luke 17:6

That’s it. Faith like a mustard seed.

But wait. There’s more.

Faith alone is dead, is what the Bible says. There’s another side to the coin – works.

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. James 2:18

Here’s a kid who is just coming to terms with his new powers and doesn’t even trust himself and yet the words “it’s a leap of faith” are so true. He decides to take that leap of faith.

Note how when he jumps off the skyscraper, he pulls shards of glass as well. That’s symbolic of the fact that he doesn’t have fine control in order to release his fingers without causing damage. He should be scared, and doubtful and yet he takes the leap. The leap of faith.

It’s faith that led him to the top and you could equate his leap to works. They go hand in hand. Without works, faith has no expression. And without faith, works lead to dead ends.

Where does the leap of faith lead?

Why is faith important?

Faith brings us close to God

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

We are justified by faith and not by works

Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. Galatians 2:16

Faith is a guideline for life

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7

Faith really isn’t complicated at all. We just tend to overthink it. We need to get out of our own way and just take leaps of faith. God is there. Really?

Faith is the basis of the working of our salvation

This doesn’t mean we earn our salvation. Not at all! We cannot earn it. Period. This refers to what Paul says in Philippians (verse below) that faith is also a fundamental requirement AFTER we are saved. When you are saved is also when God begins working in you to mould you into the image of His Son. It’s a collaborative process. This is also a lifelong process and requires faith. It also involves multiple leaps of faith…sometimes multiple leaps everyday.

There’s another illustration to the leap of faith in the Assassin’s Creed series. In these games, there’s something called “The Leap of Faith.” This involves the character climbing onto a ledge (usually at the highest point available) and then jumping off it onto the ground below. As the protagonist’s feet lift off the platform, an eagle soaring above cries out to further drive home the significance of this act. If you’ve played those games, and are familiar with the lore, you’ll know how important this act is. While it is an integral part of the games, the real significance of the act lies in that fact that it is an initiation ritual for the Assassin Brotherhood (read more on that here). You’re never truly a part of the Brotherhood if you’ve never taken a leap of faith. You might have trained your whole life and been with the same people and yet you’re not really one of them until you learn to let go, and take that leap of faith.

How true is that with us as well!

Asking God for His gift of eternal life is indeed a leap of faith but we’re faced with these ledges multiple times in our walk with Christ. We’re constantly called to let go of everything that holds us back and just take that leap of faith and land in the safety of God’s work in and through us.

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12

We are fellow workers with God in what He seeks to do in us and through us. We do have a role to play in this since we are creatures with a free will after all.

We have all been called to take leaps of faith. No tethers. No slacklines. Just free falling into God’s purpose.

The Assassin’s Creed series and the symbolism of the eagle is also pretty striking but we’ll leave that for another time.

What’s our proof?

And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that He raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 15

Faith is what helps us fulfil our mission. Our mission is to proclaim Christ both to those who don’t know Him as well as to our fellow believers.

If God has brought us through something and strengthened our faith, we are supposed to build others up too. This life is not our own. It is for Christ and what He has blessed us with is for the Church.

Just as Miles helps Peter using the same words that Peter had once used, we too must encourage each other.

We help each other in our walk of faith as we follow in the footsteps of the Son of God.