“We mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, Darling”

How my favorite line from Inception applies to our faith and our everyday lives

Inception, a 2010 Christopher Nolan film, is my all-time favorite movie for several reasons.

1. Tom Hardy is part of the cast, and he is definitely one of the biggest, if not the biggest, actor crush I have, especially in this movie. I mean how can you resist a British hunk who’s trying to help Leonardo DiCaprio implant an idea in Cillian Murphy’s mind?

2. Han Zimmer wrote the score. If you know who I’m talking about, there really isn’t much else to say here because the man is the best. But if you don’t know who I’m talking about, Zimmer also did the music for classics such as The Lion King, Gladiator, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, The Dark Knight, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, just to name a few.

3. This movie runs for a total of 148 minutes (two hours and twenty-eight minutes). However, when I’m watching it, the time flies by. I think this is because of three factors: (1) how well-written the movie is, (2) how action-packed it is, and (3) how much the plot messes with your mind. These three things definitely check the boxes for me.

4. Tom Hardy’s line about an hour and twenty minutes in when he is talking to Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character. The team is trying to escape enemy gunfire, and Gordon-Levitt is using a machine gun to hold them off. However, since they are in a dream and can pretty much bring in anything they want, Hardy proceeds to pull out a grenade launcher and says, “We mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, Darling.”

Honestly, I could probably write an entire opinion piece about each number on my list, but the one that I want to focus on is number four. Obviously, this scene is cool in and of itself as Hardy shoots a grenade launcher while inside a dream to help him and his team proceed to the next level of the dream. But I think this scene, particularly Hardy’s line, can be applied to other scenarios as well.

I believe a lot of us are satisfied to be holding the machine gun, figuratively speaking. We’re content to continue living in the same place, which might not necessarily be a bad thing unless of course there are bad guys outside with more manpower and firepower than you. But what if you are being called to more?

What if instead of living on the defensive, you’re supposed to be thriving on the offensive? What if you’re supposed to shoot your shot with that thing you’ve always said you wanted to do or try? What if at the end of the day, you’re supposed to be holding a grenade launcher instead of a machine gun?

This is especially true of Christians. Psalm 92:12-15 says the following:

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are        planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. (ESV)

The Lord desires that all of His followers would lead full and abundant lives, but sometimes I think we forget that part of having a relationship with Him. We get so caught up with saying and doing the right things that we miss out on the opportunity to live with reckless abandon and experience the freedom that there is in Christ.

I know that this is something I’m guilty of because even though I’ve been saved since I was six years old, it’s hard for me to completely surrender my doubts, worries, and other excuses that hold me back. However, in the midst of this struggle, I’m thankful for reminders, such as the one from Tom Hardy in Inception, that I was meant for more.