I love Batman. I have since I was a little girl. I have a photo of maybe 7 year old me standing with a Joker and Batman just beaming. I can’t remember exactly when my love began but it has always been a part of me. I always loved Batman because he was a regular (well no superpowers) guy who helped other people. He stood up for people and had in a good dash of vengeance. And he never gave up – no matter what he got back up again. I was head over heels. And, The older I got the more I loved him so needless to say I’ve seen all versions of Batman movies. But my favorite remains the Dark Knight trilogy. There is a repeated theme in the trilogy. “Why do we fall?” “To get back up.” Bruce learns at an early age any time we fail or fall or stumble or make a mistake – those times can either make him stronger or destroy him. He can either get back up or stay in the pit.
This theme is a very Biblical theme. Solomon teaches us this in Proverbs. A righteous man will fall but he rises up – over and over again. The number seven is the proverb simply means a complete or perfect amount. He gets up every time. When he falls, he allows those mistakes to teach him a lesson. When she stumbles, she remembers that there are other people than just herself so she pushes herself back up to keep serving. When they fall, they rise again because to wallow would be to quit and there is not productive in wallowing. Plus, the righteous knows as long as they keep getting back up and trying, ultimately they will rise again in complete victory with Lord.
But the wicked. Well, they do not learn from their mistakes. They do not see falling or failing as opportunities for growth. They do not think of others and instead of think of their pain and their needs. Because of this, they fall into the deep pit of calamity and wallow there. And because they have no eternal incentive to push themselves back up – they remain. It is a sad outcome.
The difference in the two is their reaction to the fall. The righteous rise again. They pick themselves back up and try again. Why? For God. For others. And then for themselves. The wicked they wallow or they do not even realize they’ve fallen into the pit so they remain. Why? Because all they see is self. And they make no real effort to learn from their mistakes and correct them.
We will all fall but it is our reaction to the fall that tells us who we really are.
Adonai's Appeal 