Posted by: Michael Feather in tv
The LOST finale was satisfying in a fallen world sort of way. It was a good ending to a great series, but it left me feeling there was something missing. There was. I think people are looking for what is significant, what gives their lives meaning, what helps them to see things correctly. What is frustrating is that they are stumbling around in the dark—on purpose! God has told us what is significant and what gives our lives meaning. He has given us all that we need to know and cared for us perfectly, but we choose to ignore what He says and to live our own ways.
It wasn’t a “Christian” ending, whatever that might mean. What people typically mean by that is that it doesn’t line up with the Christian worldview. I am constantly amazed that we expect things of this world to line up perfectly. It was as close as you can get from a pagan team. It was inclusive of most religions and true of none of them. Any time you mix all the religions together into a blob, you lose the significant aspects of each. I am most offended that the distinctives of Christianity are lost, but what would I expect. It is my job, as someone who believes in the one true God, to proclaim His excellencies to everyone. (1 Peter 2:9) I want a television show to do that for me, but how stupid is that?!
As I said, I finished watching this season with a feeling that something was missing. So much was missing. What I realized this morning was that I actually like that fact. If LOST fulfilled all my desires and ended as the perfect story, I would want to live in that story. I would make it into an idol. I would create my own version of the story and mentally live there for the rest of my life. I don’t want to do that.
I live in the only perfect story. I live in the one I was created for and it really is not about me. This story is about God and His glory.
We take something created and expect it to fill us, to help us, to fulfill us. Do we really think that will work? Are we that foolish? Are we that willing to turn away from what God says? In most cases, yes.
I have other thoughts and hope to post them soon. But the reality is that as Christians, we should not look to LOST for the answers. God has already given them.
Posted by: Michael Feather in tv
Watching LOST has helped me appreciate the Old Testament.
No it is not because I have found some obscure references that I just need to share with everyone. It is not even because I just wanted to capitalize on everyone who is searching for LOST stuff on the internet, not so patiently waiting for Tuesday to come.
Right now LOST is a work in progress that could go several different ways. In a sense, I am lost right now—lost in all the possibilities and eager to find out what is going to happen.
Can you imagine being a God-fearing man in the Old Testament times? What would you think about all the promises that the prophets were saying? How would you have pieced together the clues you were getting? Would you ever in your wildest dreams envisioned Jesus?
See, we read the Old knowing what is stated in the New. We know how things will go because they have already happened. We know that Jesus is the promised Messiah that will save His people by dying on a cross. We know that He is resurrected. We know that He has sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in us. They didn’t understand any of that. They had clues, like we do in LOST right now, but there are so many details and “clues” that they ignored because they had a vision for how they wanted it to happen.
Stories in process are fun, but we need the ending to know how to appreciate them to their fullest. Not knowing where you are going is enjoyable for a time because it is an adventure, but eventually you need the conclusion that ties everything together. We must read the Old Testament knowing what has happened in the New in order to appreciate it fully. God wrote both of them and had it all planned out from the beginning.
As LOST wraps up this last season, I have no hopes that the writers, directors and producers will give me such a satisfying story as that found in the Bible. Competing with God on story is a bit foolish. But I do eagerly wait for the key to unlock all that I have already seen. After the season is over, I will probably watch the whole series over again, appreciating all that has been put into this story to point to the end. Right now it is like I am living in the Old Testament and that gives me a new appreciation of the Old.
This story is spoiling, like milk that has gone bad but is left in the refrigerator. As each chapter passes, the evil gets more sour, more toxic. If there is anything that Stephen King knows how to do, it is tell a story that can turn your stomach. He tells them well, almost too well. That is NOT to say I dislike the story. I simply want to note that so far there is more depravity and sin than there is redemption and resolution. I prefer the latter since Jesus is my King and I long for the world to be made right. What makes this story unique is that the evil I am wanting to see stopped is emanating from people who claim to follow Him. I guess upon some reflection, this is not so much a surprise. Jesus had His most severe critiques for the Pharisees, the “spiritual leaders” of Israel. Religious people always seem to have the hardest time with grace and the true gospel. What saddens me is that people like Stephen King and most others in the culture today cannot tell the difference between those who claim to love Jesus and those who actually do. Maybe it is because even those of us to love Him deeply struggle with sinful desires. We are different, as I spoke about in our first post on this book, but we still have to fight against some of our impulses. Then again, it could be that people are looking for reasons not to believe in God. Whatever the case, it is sad that people do not see the truth of God.
In the book we are finally seeing the evil actions getting some confrontation, but that is squashed quickly. Characters we like are making some “minor” mistakes, but those mistakes are costing them right now. Barbie, probably the most likable character in the story, is in jail and seems to be at the mercy of all the evil characters. Rusty has stepped up in the story and presented himself as trustworthy too, but he does not have much pull right now. I think what is a struggle for me with the story right now and why the “religious” people frustrate me so is that King has purposely written it that way. Think about it. He could have made it a mystery what was really going on and how 4 people had been murdered. Since we know who has murdered these people and that it was not Barbie, we are outraged. He wants us to feel these things even as we are reading. It is a godly response for us to hate injustice. We should long for things to be made right. That pleases God even if the justice must strike those who claim His name.
I am fascinated to find out how the story ends. I want to see how King wraps it all up. What is his point? Usually you cannot know such things until after the whole story has been told. 600 pages in and I still don’t know what he is doing. Some people would be frustrated with that. For me, this means intrigue. I am used to knowing the storyline and being able to guess where things are going. King is keeping me on my toes. That is a good thing. I have been pulled in. I will go along with King on the ride. In some ways this is like LOST. I have stuck it out for the last 5 seasons because I was hooked at the beginning. There have been some rocky parts in both storylines, but I believe the overall story will be worth it.
What do you think at this point? Anything so far that is pulling out a response from you? I would love to hear how you are holding up. See you in a week with the next 200 pages under our belts.
Wow!
Seeing as how I watch shows on dvr or Hulu instead of live, I am not able to respond to them immediately. But did you see the season finale of Lost? Those of us who still follow the show can’t help but be intrigued. Now we just have to wait until the LAST season!
Here is a recap and 10 questions. Interesting for the Biblical references.
Thanks to Gene Veith for the link.
What did you think? Are you excited not for teh final season? Love to hear your thoughts.
So, are you watching LOST this season? If you are, are you pleased with the direction they are taking it?
By the way, how are shows like this helping or hindering your pursuit of Jesus? This is an honest question.
I look forward to your thoughts.
OK, I am WAY behind on this post and it will not be very long, but I do plan on posting after each episode. I had two great people in my life ask me about the plans, so here you go. Thanks by the way to those two guys. :)
This was a great episode for me. I love how the writers are changing the focus each season to a different aspect or group. This season Read the rest of this entry »
Welcome to the fourth season of LOST. I hope to be interacting over each episode here and thinking through how we as believers should think about this show. Sometimes I will just give some random thought, other times we will focus on a specific issue and ignore the rest. Whatever the case, this is intended to help us wrestle with truth through this series. If there is anything specific you would like to discuss, please feel free to make comments below and I will see what we can do about it. Now to the show… Read the rest of this entry »
For anyone who’d like to follow along with the “Lost” discussion, but hasn’t seen any of the first three seasons, I found this recap. It really does cover all of the info you need in 8 minutes and 15 seconds. Be warned. If you do watch it, a lot of the steam will be taken out of those seasons, should you decide to go back and watch them.
I also recommend that any of you faithful Losties watch the recap as well, just because it’s funny. Be warned. Mr. Friendly throws like a girl. Very sad.