I don’t know if you’ve ever ridden Disneyland’s Space Mountain ride, but it definitely transports you into an out of this world experience that leaves you feeling like you spent three minutes being an astronaut.
And if you’ve seen Gravity, you now know what spending 90 minutes 200 miles above the earth might feel like as well.
Except this isn’t the tranquil, peaceful free-floating journey that you might expect. Gravity takes you into a scenario filled with imminent danger, likely fatalities, and a thrill-a-minute survival plot that makes you glad that you aren’t Sandra Bullock or George Clooney.
At face value, Gravity seems like nothing more than a heart-pounding, special effects masterpiece with a plot as thin as the earth’s atmosphere at high elevation. But as you get a glimpse into the internal mentality of Dr. Ryan Stone (Bullock) and Matt Kowalsky (Clooney), you realize there is more to this film than a spaced out adventure.
At the heart of the human element in Gravity lie two lost souls looking to survive. If life is tenuous on the ground, imagine how quickly you could meet your end because of a kink in your air hose or a tear in your suit. Add a dimension of deadly debris headed straight your way, and suddenly your priorities become very clear.
Do you ever feel like you’re floating in space, hanging by a fragile thread?
Or perhaps you are burdened with a loss and you’re not sure if you have the strength to finish this journey. We may not be in danger of literally suffocating or being hit with deadly satellite particles, but our circumstances can sometimes choke out our joy, and our relationships can knock us out of a stable orbit in life.
While we may not be visited by an angelic-like figure in outer space, in the midst of our trials, we can all find the courage as we face our challenges from the very words of God:
So we have no reason to despair. Despite the fact that our outer humanity is falling apart and decaying, our inner humanity is breathing in new life every day. You see, the short-lived pains of this life are creating for us an eternal glory that does not compare to anything we know here. So we do not set our sights on the things we can see with our eyes. All of that is fleeting; it will eventually fade away. Instead, we focus on the things we cannot see, which live on and on (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
There is a longing in every human heart to experience a world beyond the one that gravity keeps us trapped in – maybe that’s why we build rockets and make space movies! But even if we could travel across the 14 billion light years of the observable universe, we still wouldn’t find what we were looking for. Here’s the way C.S. Lewis describes this condition: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
What is that “other world” that we were made for like? It has no tears, no disease, no poverty, no suffering, and no death. It is perfect paradise where we worship a perfect God in perfect relationship with each other. If you have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, that is your ultimate destiny!
So if you feel like you are free-floating through your life with little chance of survival, remember that God has not left you alone out in the dark and cold conditions of the universe. He is using this adventure called life to prepare you for the next one, and that is the one hope that you can tether your life to without any fear of it changing.
And don’t forget that you are also on a rescue mission to take your friends into the safety of a relationship with Jesus. We are called to THE Cause because they are discouraged and downtrodden, and we know the way home. The gospel is like gravity in that it keeps us rooted and grounded in the reality that we are loved and we are saved, and that’s what people need to know!
Friends, let’s fire up our engines and launch out into the often unknown territory of sharing the gospel with our friends…this adventure we call life will be over before we know it!
Flashpoint: Ignite Into Action
If we actually pictured our friends who don’t know Jesus as people floating towards their certain doom, I believe we would be much more motivated to share the gospel with them. Keep this mental image in your mind this week and let it spur you on to share your faith!
Accelerant: Fuel for THE Cause
Pray: Father, thank you for rescuing us from destruction and giving us the hope for a future world in heaven. Remind us, Lord, to not keep the beautiful message of Your salvation a secret, and give us hope in the midst of trials.
Read: Romans 5:5. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
Get: Wondering how to get a spiritual conversation going with your unreached friends? Check out Greg Stier’s video “Ask, Admire, Admit.”
Youth Leader’s Discussion Questions:
Big Idea:
Gravity reminds us that we have a hope in Jesus that keeps us going in the midst of trial, and we also have friends who need to be rescued.
Key Scripture:
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
ALT-ernative Questions:
- Did you ever want to be an astronaut? Why or why not?
- How can the verse about hope help you in the midst of trials?
- How can sharing your faith help you understand the hope that we have in Jesus even more?
- How can you use this Soul Fuel to further THE Cause of Christ and spread His message?
