Avatar: The Cost of Adoption

Jake Sully is a human amidst Na'vi. He is an earthling on Pandora. He does not believe in Eyra. He has come with a mission that will ruin an entire race forever. He's not exactly the best candidate to be chosen by Eyra, much less become a Na'vi.

Yet he is chosen. And he does become a Na'vi. He is adopted by Eyra and the Na'vi to fully become one of them. No longer an avatar, he is the real thing.

It's such a beautiful picture of God's adoption of us. He chose us before we stood in awe before Him, and He wanted to adopt us. He wanted us to become one of His family.

Yet Jake Sully could not do so unless his earthly body died. He had to see the corpse of that broken, paralyzed body in order to be fully Na'vi. It wasn't like it was particularly nice, but wouldn't you be attached to your skin and bones, the things that you thought made you - you? But would you see, as Jake did, that it was less than what he was made for? He was made to run. He was made to be free.

We hold on to so many things, things that slow us down, things that cause us to be broken. Yet we must throw them off! The old is gone, the new is come! When we come to God, He does not simply save us. He. Makes. Us. New.

Hebrews 12:1

2 Corinthians 5:17

Luke 5:37-38

Romans 12:2

Matthew 11:28-30

Jake Sully loved his Na'vi self. He could walk, he could run. He could fly. I don't imagine that he ever looked back at the corpse beside him under the tree of Erya.

Don't look back. You were made for more. Run.

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Avatar: The Annoyance of the Call

The credit for this discovery goes to my dad, who recognized and then vocalized it to honor my love of allegories.

Jake Sully had no purpose. This fact practically oozes from his every motion from the moment we meet him; he's jumping at the chance for a "fresh start". He's only on Pandora because of the death of his brother, and that doesn't negate the fact that everything he once had is lost and that his future must be bleak. His family is dead, and he is trapped in a wheelchair.

Finding his destiny - his future, his calling - is the last thing on his mind. He's on a strange planet, with a strange girl, and he's watching his back as he experiences a world unlike anything he's ever known. Together, they traipse through a blacklit jungle; he's intrigued, but he's also lost and desperate.

Finally, Neytiri stops him and tells him to return, and then something happens. The "pure spirits," the seeds of Eyra, descend towards them. Neytiri freezes, in awe of what deserves respect in her world, but Jake does no such thing. After a curious perusal of the serene, airborne jellyfish, he begins to feel mobbed and tries to bat one away.

Neytiri grabs his arm, and then his other arm as he continues the defense. "No."

The seeds of Eyra descend upon him. They cover his arms and head, bobbing gently. And then they fly away, leaving him confused and Neytiri shocked.

As the movie progresses, we realize that they are more or less the physical signs of Eyra, the deity of the Na'vi. And we - and Jake - realize something that Neytiri knew at once: their alighting upon Jake was a sign of Eyra's choosing. Jake was called by Eyra. His life's purpose was on Pandora.

He batted them away.

How many times has God and His purpose for your life come knocking at your door? How many times has it seemed an annoyance, or perhaps something darker, a pit of despair? How many times have you batted away the very thing that would take you where you are supposed to be?

It wasn't a loud voice on Pandora. The tree of Eyra didn't suddenly quiver or get struck with lightening when Jake Sully approached. No, it was simpler than that. It was odd, floating, little jellyfish that showed a particular interest in an avatar.

It's not a loud voice from heaven here, either. It could be something your best friend said. It could be something that a stranger said. It could be a traffic jam, or a death in the family. It could be that one person who won't leave you alone; it could be that one dream, that one thought, that won't leave you alone.

Take heed before you bat it away. It may lead to your destiny.

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Avatar: With Faith Like a Child

“You are like a child,” Neytiri tells Jake with disdain. “Stupid. Like a baby."

It’s nothing Jake hasn’t heard before. Back at base camp, in his real, paraplegic body, all he hears about is how his intelligence is nowhere near the level of his dead twin brother. “Let your mind go blank,” says Dr. Grace Augustine. “That should be easy for you.”

So it’s nothing new when Neytiri considers him below her. He’s below every being, it seems, both human and Na’vi. Hidden beneath his signature cockiness, there’s an attitude of humility. He knows he’s not the right human to become Na’avi, and he knows that he makes a pretty poor Na’avi in Neytiri’s eyes.

Eyra chooses him. She doesn’t choose Dr. Augustine or Norm. She chooses the one who isn’t ready, isn’t trained, and isn’t knowledgeable. She chooses the one who Neytiri calls an uncomprehending child.

Though his intentions are murky at first, Jake enters the world of the Na’vi with genuine humility. If he had let his pride get in the way, Neytiri or her betrothed would probably have killed him before the story progressed far. But he humbled himself before Neytiri first, and then the remainder of the clan.

He had faith like a child. The cockiest avatar became the most humble Na’avi. And he became the greatest Na’vi.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come unto me and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.” It is that kind of humility – a childlike ignorance and acceptance thereof – that leads to choosing, using, and raising by God. Eyra chose Jake, the child. God wants to choose you, but you must humble yourself like a child.

If you are already broken, and you feel as if you could never walk again. If you have nothing, if you know you are unlearned. If you know you are untrained, and you are sure that you are unready, then you are in the place where God can raise you up. You are in the place where God finds His chosen ones.

Neytiri thought very little of Jake when she first met him. When she first saw him, she saw him as an invader and, thus, a target. But she listened. She saw the seeds of Eyra, first on her arrow and then on Jake, and she acknowledged them.

Do not disdain the lowly and poor. Do not look down on the humble. The greatness that God has in store for them is unequaled in your imagination, so humble yourself and follow the Spirit's leading.

It is very hard for the proud to be raised up because they think they already touch the clouds, but the humble shall be anointed to fly among the stars.

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