How to Share Your Faith Using 24
In the Fox TV series 24, the world is a scary place. As the show's fourth season escalates in intensity, the agents of the fictional Counter Terrorism Unit (CTU) are frantically trying to rescue the United States from calamity. Last season featured an impending bio-terror attack; this season terrorists have taken control of a nuclear warhead within the US.
The tense, action-packed (discretion advised) series follows CTU Agent Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland) through 24 episodes, covering the time period of one twenty-four hour day. Amazingly, a never-ending string of calamities await Jack every hour of his day. So far in his day at work he has accomplished a number of incredible feats. Jack has rescued the Secretary of Defense and his daughter from the terrorist kidnappers moments before they were to be executed on live TV. He's tracked down and taken into custody numerous bad guys and extracted vital info from them (mostly through questionable means). He's been taken captive himself and come within inches of death multiple times, all in an effort to find the mastermind behind the terrorist operation. Jack has even played a vital role in trying to track down the nuclear "football" that went missing when Air Force One was shot down by the terrorists. Now the bad guys have the president's nuclear activation code and the stolen warhead.
All this in less than twenty-four hours! Agent Jack Bauer is one busy man. There's a lot of evil in the world that he needs to rescue us from single-handedly. And he never stops to eat or take a bathroom break!!!
Is the world really that scary a place? While the pace of the threats on 24 may be intensified for dramatic effect, the potential for many of them to become a reality is certainly not unimaginable. We all have vivid recollections of the tragic events of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. No one doubts that we live in a very different world today than we did a few short years ago.
How do we and our friends deal with living in this uncertain world with its uncertain future? Should all these potential calamities leave us feeling stressed and depressed? If you're a follower of Jesus, your hope is in Him and your ultimate future is already determined - to be with Him in heaven! You may face uncertain or difficult times now or in the future, but you have God's promise that says, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." (Deuteronomy 31:6)
What about our friends? Do they have this same freedom from fear? Ask them if they think the world is a scary place and if they are fearful of what the future could hold. Share the reason for your hope of God walking with you through whatever the future holds and ultimately taking you to be with Him in heaven. For help in explaining this, see the Gospel Journey.
"Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened. But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have, but do this with gentleness and respect." (2 Peter 3:14-15)
There are few guarantees in life. It's easy to be lulled into thinking that life will go by smoothly, day by day. But the reality is that at any moment something totally unexpected could slam into our life and spin our world out of control. Whether it's a terrorist attack, the devastation of losing a friend in a fatal car accident, or a parent's divorce, we never know when tragedy may strike our life and turn our world upside down. But we can know God's promises and eternal presence are real stabilizers in the midst of our world gone crazy. Like the Psalmist we can declare,
"The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the strength of my salvation, and my stronghold." (Ps. 18:2)
ALWAYS we can run to him, cling to him and find strength in him.
Can we expect CIA agents to rescue us from the evil in this world, like CTU Agent Bauer does in 24? Maybe/maybe not. But we can be certain that Jesus will be there to rescue us from ultimate peril - eternal life apart from God and to walk with us through the tough stuff that might hit us in the meantime.
