“Lost”

One of the few TV shows that Mary and I watch is “Lost.”  Or, maybe I should say, used to watch.  The finale of the show was aired on Sunday, May 23rd.  The finale of a long running, popular TV show is always of great interest to its loyal fans.  Will the writers wrap up the show in a fitting way or will it leave you hanging?  Will the viewers be pleased or angered by the final episode?  Will questions raised by the show be answered at the end? Those questions were magnified by this series. 
            I don’t know of any other show that had more twists and turns—more complicated time changes (forward, backward, and sideways) - and more complicated characters than this one did.  A character you thought was a bad guy turned out to be good.  Someone you thought was dead turned out to be alive.  People moved in and out of time faster than you could possibly keep track of.  You were never quite sure who was in love with whom and where any relationship was headed.
            But this exceptionally complicated show had a surprisingly satisfying ending.  We didn’t get all the questions answered (maybe this sets us up for a sequel), but there was a good resolution.  All the main characters were brought together and those that once loved each other were reunited.  The importance of friendship was emphasized.  Relationships were emphasized as the most important aspect of life. 
            These were all people who were lost on an island where no one could find them.  But the deeper meaning of the title was the fact that each of these characters were lost in their personal lives before the plane crash.  They were alone.  They had no one to love them.  They each were bruised and broken in different ways.  Some were angry.  Some were without hope.  Some were running from the law.  But all of them were lost.
            The final episode was about the redemption of these lost people.  They had found love—caring relationships that transformed their lives.  And that’s what made it a satisfying end to an extremely complicated show.
            I love the basic themes of this show.  They are the deep themes of life.  For aren’t we all lost in some way?  You will probably argue with me on that point.  Most of the time we don’t feel lost.  We think we are doing the best we can and doing pretty well in most areas of life.
            But the Bible makes it very clear that we are all lost.  We wander away from what is most important.  We go our own way, instead of the way we were created to go.  We leave home for a distant country where disaster and heartache are inevitable.
            We were created to live in relationship with God.  But we have such a hard time doing that.  We are consumed with our own life and our own will.  We think about our weight, our money, our pleasures, our plans, our careers, our families, and God gets set aside.
            We are all lost.  The good news is that Jesus came to find us and He promises to leave no stone unturned until He does.  Our God is the seeker of the lost. And His greatest joy is to find the lost and bring them home.
            If you don’t have a living, dynamic relationship with God—you are lost.  It doesn’t matter how good you are or how much you have accomplished, acquired, or attained.  Life is all about our relationships and primarily our relationship with God.  If that relationship doesn’t exist or isn’t the most important thing in our life, we are indeed lost.
            The great news is that God has found us in Jesus.  We need to wake up and realize that He is already with us and He has already saved us.  In Jesus, the lost have been found. 

                        Grace and Peace,
                                                Pastor Tom