Spoiler alert: If you haven’t yet watched Point Break (2015) and want to do so, this post contains potential spoilers!
Starring Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez, and Teresa Palmer, Point Break (2015) tells the story of Johnny Utah, a young FBI agent and former poly athlete who has to infiltrate a team of extreme sports athletes because he suspects them of masterminding a string of sophisticated corporate heists. His life is in constant danger while he works undercover to prove that these athletes are in fact guilty of these mind-boggling crimes that are shattering the world’s financial markets.
The 1991 film of the same name featured Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, and differed quite a bit in terms of plot. The original film’s title referred to the surfing term used to describe where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline. However, the title of the new version seems to be intended in a more figurative sense as a reference to the point just before the climax of an ordeal where you can either soar, or give in to fear and break (the breaking point).
I don’t want to give much else away if you haven’t watched the film yet. The views are amazing, as well as the feats that the actors accomplish. Although the characters and the plot lack substantial depth, there is still a whole lot to this film – a whole lot that made me think.
In psychology the term “breaking point” refers to “the stress at which a person breaks down or where a situation becomes crucial”. It could also refer to the “degree of tension or stress at which something breaks” – in this case, ultimately allowing fear to get in the way of one setting out to achieve a goal that one has/had.
In the film, the group of criminals was “unlikely” because even though they were committing crimes, they were actually in search of spiritual enlightenment by also aiming to complete the “Ozaki 8” – a teaching according to which one should do eight extreme acts that honour the forces of nature. With this in mind, they do things that, if done wrong, would mean certain death.
If one lives and dreams, one will always have the opportunity to either soar, or to give in to fear.
To some people, experiencing a near breaking point is so traumatic that they never ever venture out again to achieve their dreams, and then live their lives in the shadows. To other people, their breaking point seems almost too much to bear, and they totally give up on God along the way.
I’ve been encouraged to push beyond: Push beyond fear; beyond doubt; beyond insecurity; beyond apparent circumstances; beyond loneliness… and I know that you can too!
Unlike those men who sought to find their enlightenment through ordeals that would potentially kill them, we seek to find our way through an ultimate dependence on Jesus. In all truth, it is the most extreme thing one could ever do. While it may not always make sense on the surface, let this be an encouragement to you today to push beyond even yourself and to find your significance in God. The Bible says it this way:
“My Salvation and significance depend ultimately on God; the core of my strength, my shelter, is in the True God. Have faith in Him in all circumstances, dear people. Open up your hearts to Him; the True God shelters us in His arms.”
Psalms 62:7-8 (The Voice)
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