LOST

Bullets. Blackmail. Bodies. Betrayal. Bombs. Boats. Beaches. Babies. Ben.

What do they all have in common?

If you said, "They all begin with the letter 'B'," you are right. But, that is not the answer I was really looking for. Here's a better answer: They are all a part the television show, "LOST."

Yes, I must admit it, I am a fan. Why? I don't really know. I don't think any other show in the history of television has been more exasperating to watch. The title of the show could not be more perfect, because the more I watch it, the more and more "lost" I become.

And I'm not the only one.

Regis Philbin is convinced the show is actually a long dream sequence of one of the characters. Jimmy Kimmel tries to coax insights from cast members every time one of them appears on his show.

Even actress Evangeline Lilly, who plays the role of "Kate," admits she has a hard time returning to reality once taping is over. She just can't shake the feeling that the threats she faces on the show also threaten her in real life.

For those of you who are not fans, let me briefly fill you in --

"LOST" is a story about the survivors of a plane crash who find themselves marooned on an exotic island. Just when they think things might work out for them, as they await rescue, problems begin on the island.

One major problem is that the island is already inhabited by people who see the survivors as a threat. Also, the island itself, the former site of far-flung scientific experiments, often defies the laws of time and space, and may not be a "real" island at all (or, maybe it is). Since I'm lost, I don't really know.

Anyway, these survivors (mostly good guys, like Kate) are "lost" on the island and are trying to get back home. Meanwhile, the "others" (the people who were already living on the island) are, for the most part, trying to either stop them or kill them.

Great TV, right?

Right. Except, I'm lost. I'm lost because the story is convoluted most of the time. One plot tangent goes off in one direction all on its own for awhile; then the main plot-line returns; then another tangent takes off in a totally different direction...and, all the while, as viewers, we are left trying to piece it all together into a coherent whole.

Complicating everything is the use of flashbacks and flash-forwards. Sometimes the story is in the present...then, it quickly shifts to the past...or, just as quickly, to the future. There is never any explanation. It is up to us to figure out whether the scene we are watching is in the past, the present, or the future.

The theory is, I suppose, if you watch enough, you will eventually figure it all out from start to finish.

I'm beginning to have my doubts, though. My wife gave up on the show a long time ago and wonders why I'm still watching it.

I don't know. Maybe I am just an optimist. Someday, it will all make sense. I hope. Maybe I also like it because, in a way, the show is a metaphor for real life in the real world.

We are all living on this weird, little island called "Earth" that we don't completely understand. This Earth-island is filled with good guys and bad guys. Some of the good guys want to help us stay alive and find our way home. The bad guys don't.

The plot-line of our lives often goes off in unusual and unexpected tangents. We'll be heading down the highway of life in one direction thinking we have it all together. Then, without warning, something happens that changes everything. Maybe it is a doctor's diagnosis, a drunk driver, or a dropout daughter that stops us in our tracks and reminds us how difficult life can be.

Like the characters on the TV show, we also have a past that has impacted our present. And the way we live in the present, and the decisions we make now, will determine where we spend our future.

And, right now, many of us are lost...looking for the way home.

During one episode of the TV show, six survivors ended up in the middle of the ocean; the island had disappeared; and things looked grim. But, just when all seemed "lost," they were miraculously rescued and made it home, thanks to a life boat which saved their lives.

Sometimes, in my life, I feel like I need a life boat. My plane has crashed and burned and things are looking grim.

The good news is that God has already sent one...a life boat that saved me, and will save you too.
That life boat is Jesus. When you get onto His life boat, you are rescued immediately. Through Jesus, you will not be lost...you will make it home. And when you get there, everything will make sense.

Remember the Bible story about Zacchaeus, the tax collector? He decided to step onto God's life boat, and when he did, Jesus gave him this assurance...

"For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." (Luke 19:10 NIV)

You can wonder around this Earth-island we live on today, trying to find your own way home, but you will just end up more and more lost. Or, you can step out in faith onto God's life boat, Jesus, and be rescued.

And being saved is so much better than being lost!


Pastor Greg