How to Share Your Faith Using Lost
When ABC's Emmy Award winning hit drama series Lost returned to TV this fall, it attracted 23 million viewers for its season premier. That's nearly one in five of every TV household in America. With such a huge fan base, Lost can be a great conversation starter for sharing your faith.
The stranded survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 have been castaways on a Pacific island for forty plus days. A variety of extraordinary challenges have begun to unfold around them, from the mysterious group called "The Others" who kidnapped one of the survivors, to the marooned crazy French woman, to the blood chilling howls of an unknown creature that haunts the jungle. Last season generated ongoing speculation that the survivors may not have actually been stranded on an island, but were instead in a vague, spiritual 'life after death' world. This season's initial episode laid that dubious theory to rest and clarified that Lost is meant to convey live people in their real life struggles to survive on a fictional island.
This season, mistrust will grow as the 'high drama' relationships among the castaways further unfold. Back-story lives will continue to be explored throughout the season. There will be plenty of mystery and danger lurking on the island, keeping viewers intrigued as the crash survivors' tensions and struggles mount.
Perhaps part of the fascination with this TV show is the reality that most of us can identify with the fear of being lost. If you've ever been lost even temporarily, you know that it doesn't feel very nice! The emotions it triggers can range from the frustrating to the traumatic. So just image how you'd feel if your life were at stake!
Would you do all you could to help a friend who was lost and facing a life and death situation? Of course you would! Now think about what you're doing to help your friends who are spiritually lost and ultimately facing an eternal life and death situation. Are you doing all you can to give them the 'roadmap' they need to find their way spiritually?
Jesus had a lot to say about those who are spiritually lost. While he was visiting the home of Zaccheus, Jesus told him,
"Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a son of Abraham. And I, the Son of Man, have come to seek and save those like him who are lost." (Luke 19:9-10)
In Luke 15:22-24 while telling the story of the Prodigal Son, Jesus said,
"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate."
In some ways our lives here on Planet Earth are a lot like the existence of the castaways on a remote island. We are spiritually lost and need help finding our way back to God. Jesus came to Earth on a rescue mission to save us from being forever stranded and spending eternity apart from God. That's why he died on the cross - to save the lost!
So next time you get the chance to talk about ABC's Lost, try to move the conversation in the direction of a spiritual discussion. Being lost isn't a very good feeling, and many teens, if they're honest, have an underlying unease that they are wandering through life without the roadmap they need to find their way. Being lost and separated from God is a hopeless feeling - being found and in relationship with God through Jesus' rescue mission on the cross is the best feeling in the world!
