Major themes.

There are a couple of broad themes that Lost revolves around: (1) good vs. evil and (2) free will vs. determinism. You see these same themes played out in the Bible as well.

Certainly, it’s not hard to equate the battle between Jacob and the Man in Black to the battle between God and Satan. This is an eternal struggle that began long before mankind was created. Essentially, Satan is trying to defeat God, much the same way that MIB is trying to defeat Jacob, and we as humans are caught in the middle of this battle, just as the people on the island are caught in the middle. And as such, we must choose what side we’re on. Ephesians 6:12 says: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” We are part of the larger eternal war whether we want to be or not.

Which gets back to the question of free will vs. determinism. MIB tells Sawyer that he has three choices. First, he can ignore Jacob’s invitation (i.e. God’s call to salvation) and see how his life plays out. Of course, the end result is always the same: death, with your name being crossed off the list. (Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”) Second, he can accept the invitation. (Romans 10:9-10: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.”) Or third, he can reject it outright. Likewise, we have the same choices, although really the first and the third lead to the same conclusion.

The debate over free will vs. determinism (or predestination) is a pretty big one within the Christian church. Has God already predetermined who will be saved, written their names and numbered them as Jacob did with his chosen “candidates”? Or are we free to choose for ourselves whether we are saved or not? I won’t even try to go into this discussion here, but you can see how this same theme is directly playing out in Lost. And I think the “sideways” storyline will continue to explore it throughout the rest of the season. Are the six chosen — Jack, Locke, Sawyer, Hurley, Sayid, and Kwon (most likely Sun) — predetermined to end up on the island even in this alternate universe, or did “rebooting” time break that cycle?

The Man in Black.

It’s fitting that the MIB has taken the appearance of Locke (the island’s “man of faith”). Satan, too, often appears as men of faith to deceive us. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16: “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act.” In the same way, Sawyer was able to discern the fake Locke from the real Locke based on the way he acted. (The real Locke, he said, was full of fear.) Jesus also warned in Mark 13:5-6 that in the last days (final season?) “many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah.’ They will deceive many.” Sounds like the Man In Black to me. (Incidentally, it’s interesting to note that “sideways” Locke took a job as a substitute teacher. In other words, he wasn’t a real teacher, he was a false one (i.e. a false prophet).)

It’s also interesting to note Ilana’s statement that MIB is stuck looking like Locke. In Genesis 3, God condemns Satan to crawl on his belly, groveling in the dust as long as he lives. In the same way, MIB is cursed to live out his days on the island, stuck in whatever form he takes. Satan is not all powerful; he must conform to God’s rules and limits. MIB must also play by Jacob’s rules.

The death of Jacob.

The Man in Black thought he had found a loophole to defeating (killing) Jacob. Since he himself can’t kill Jacob, as he was reminded by the blonde-haired boy last night (angel? prophet?), he tried to manipulate Ben into killing him. In the same way, Judas Iscariot was deceived into betraying Jesus, which led to Jesus’ crucifixion. When Jesus died, Satan thought he had won (we saw MIB remove the white rock from the scale and toss it into the ocean). But Jesus’ death was part of God’s greater plan for mankind. His death opened the door for mankind to be saved. Jesus died so that we wouldn’t have to. Likewise, Jacob’s death, I believe, is part of a larger plan that will ultimately lead to the redemption of the island castaways. And just as Jesus rose from the grave on the third day after His death, I wonder if we’ll see Jacob be resurrected on the third day. (Ilana reminded us that Jacob was killed “yesterday”, so we should know soon enough.)

Previously:
Lost thoughts, Feb. 10
Lost thoughts, Feb. 3

A month later Lawrence returned the favor before the BCS National Championship game, giving Shipley a verse from 2 Corinthians 12:9: “‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Those words, ironically, seem to have even more meaning in the wake of the Longhorns’ disappointing loss to Alabama.  But the final score is only part of the story.

When asked how he felt after the game, quarterback Colt McCoy — whose incredible college football career ended rather suddenly in the first quarter with a nerve injury to the right shoulder — responded, “I always give God the glory.  I never question why things happen the way they do.  God is in control of my life.  And I know that if nothing else, I’m standing on the Rock.”

And it’s not just McCoy, Shipley, and Lawrence.  Or even center Chris Hall, who opted out of the NFL draft in favor of attending seminary.  As Rivals.com writer Jason King points out:

What makes the Longhorns unique is the quantity of players who are so open and passionate about their relationship with Christ. …

Attendance at Wednesday night FCA meetings can often be overwhelming, players said. And each Friday before home games, a group of Longhorns visit children at a local hospital.

Offensive lineman Adam Ulatoski spent time last summer building a house for a less fortunate family through Habitats for Humanity while McCoy went on a mission trip to Peru for the second straight year.

As often as he can, Shipley speaks to various high school groups and church youth groups in and around Austin. Shipley said his faith went to a new level during his first two years at Texas, when injuries kept him off the field.

“It was tough,” Shipley said, “but it allowed me to figure out who I was away from football. I did a lot of soul searching and developed my faith. Now that’s my motivation for every game. I try to use the pedestal I’ve been given to glorify God.”

Indeed, the record books will show an Alabama victory — and deservedly so — but ultimately that doesn’t matter.  These players understand that they are part of a bigger plan and that their faith will have a far greater impact than football championships ever will.

And that’s the best legacy anyone could ever hope to leave.

Hook ‘Em, Horns!

Previously:
We need more Tebows, McCoys, and Bradfords

The above photo was taken by the Hubble telescope in October (click to enlarge or download the original here).  From NASA:

The festive portrait is the most detailed view of the largest stellar nursery in our local galactic neighborhood. The massive, young stellar grouping, called R136, is only a few million years old and resides in the 30 Doradus Nebula, a turbulent star-birth region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. There is no known star-forming region in our galaxy as large or as prolific as 30 Doradus. Many of the diamond-like icy blue stars are among the most massive stars known. Several of them are over 100 times more massive than our Sun. These hefty stars are destined to pop off, like a string of firecrackers, as supernovas in a few million years.

About a week ago I helped direct about 20 third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders in a little Christmas play at church, and I thought about this photo when it got to the part about the Three Wise Men.  According to Matthew 2:1-12, a group of Magi followed a star in the east for as much as two years in search of the prophesied Messiah before finding a very young Jesus in Bethlehem.

The Magi were astrologers, possibly Zoroastrian priests.  As Wikipedia points out, “these priests paid particular attention to the stars, and gained an international reputation for astrology, which was at that time highly regarded as a science.”  Yep, they were scientists.  Much like the modern-day astronomers who produced this amazing photo.

Obviously the Magi of Jesus’ time wouldn’t have seen anything this spectacular, but what they did see was apparently compelling enough to cause them to pursue it for many months, not because of what the star was but because of what it announced.

Like the Magi of 2,000 years ago, I’m in awe of the stars.  I’m captivated by the majestic beauty of the universe and overwhelmed by its near-infinite expanse.  How big and powerful must God be to have created it, to form the stars and planets, create entire galaxies, and set into motion a process that spans billions and billions of years.  And it was those same stars, some millions of years old, that led the “wise men from the east” to the feet of the Creator Himself in the little town of Bethlehem.

What do you see in the stars?  Do you see a random collection of gases, elements, and chemical reactions, the remains of a Big Bang that happened eons ago without reason?  Or do you see a masterpiece, a work of art created by a God that transcends time and space but who “became flesh and made his dwelling among us”?

The Magi understood.  Upon finding Jesus, they fell to their knees and worshiped Him.  And I worship Him today.

Merry Christmas!

But seriously, have you ever really thought about that story, about who the Pilgrims were?  Dictionary.com defines a pilgrim as “a person who journeys, esp. a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion”, and that’s exactly who the Plymouth settlers were.  They were Puritans, English separatists who believed that the Church of England had become so tainted by politics and man-made doctrine that it was beyond reform.  Many of them had initially fled England for Holland before joining up with another group of Puritans to settle in the New World.

This wasn’t an easy task.  There were no guarantees that any of them would survive, and in fact two of the pilgrims died even before reaching land.  Disease was rampant, food was scarce, the weather was extremely harsh, and there was always the threat of attack from the native tribes in the region.  But they came anyway, not for financial gain — as those who settled in Virginia did — but because of their devotion to God.

And I have to wonder, would I do the same if I were them?

Would I have the courage and faith to put my family onto a ship headed for an almost completely unknown land halfway across the world, knowing that the odds of our survival were overwhelmingly not in our favor?  Leave everything I have, everything I know to start over completely from scratch with virtually nothing on a whole other continent over 3,000 miles away?  And do it all, not for the chance to strike it rich, but because it was what God was instructing me to do.

Honestly, I don’t know if I could.  I don’t know if I could let go of my house, my car, my stuff, my safe and comfortable life and trade it for an uncertain and potentially disastrous future.  And not just me, but choose that path for my wife and daughters, too.

Oh sure, I can serve where I am.  I can give without really having to give up.  But could I — would I — get on that ship if God asked me to?  I’d like to say yes, but I really don’t know.

Many of the separatists didn’t.  Of those who fled England for Holland, only a few dozen made the decision to emigrate to the New World.  Most stayed behind in the relative safety of their new home.  And yet, those who did go, those who did act on their faith would end up establishing one of the most important settlements in modern history.

So today I’m thankful for those who followed their faith, those that chose God over everything else.  And I hope that one day I would have the courage to do the same.

Many of those people didn’t hang around for long.

Jesus told the crowd that instead of seeking another meal, which would just leave them hungry again later, they should choose the “bread of life” (v. 35).  He told them to eat His flesh and drink His blood, which would lead to eternal life (vv. 53-58).  Naturally, these cryptic commands only confused His followers, and almost all of them left.

I know how I would’ve felt to see everyone desert me.  I would’ve felt like a complete failure, worthless and rejected.  I would’ve wondered, “What did I do wrong?  How can I get them back?  Maybe give them some more food, heal some more people, do some awesome magic tricks?”  Because that’s our human nature.  We want to be loved, we want to be accepted, we want to be respected and adored.  And had I been Jesus, I would’ve done anything at that moment to keep those people from walking out on me.  Anything.

Thank God I’m not Jesus.

Verse 64 says that Jesus knew from the beginning who would stay and who would go, and it’s pretty obvious that these people were never in it for the long haul.  They didn’t care about who Jesus was.  They didn’t really care whether or not He was the prophesied Messiah, the Son of God, the One who would in a short time willingly give up His life for their sins.  No.  All they cared about was their own immediate needs and wants, and when the food ran out, when the going got tougher, when the cost of following Jesus became greater, they were out of there.

So my question to you is simple: Will you stay, or will you go?  If you’re already a Christian, you’ve already made the decision to give your life to Jesus Christ, and you’ve asked forgiveness for your sins and asked Him to be your Lord and Savior, will you continue to stick with Him, even when it’s tough and even when you don’t know where He’s leading you?

And if you’re not a Christian, if you’re wondering if this Jesus guy is who He says He is, will you keep seeking answers?  Or will you walk away because it just looks too hard?

As I read back over this passage, I wondered whatever happened to the people that left.  Did any of them ever return, or did they walk away from Jesus forever?  I’ll never know.  But I know that at least for me, I can choose to stay.

Previously:
In the beginning…
Who are you following?

I don’t want the Father, I want a vending machine
I don’t want the Father, I want a vending machine
I know what I want if you know what I mean
I don’t want the Father, I want a vending machine

– Derek Webb, “The Spirit Vs. The Kickdrum”

A lot happens between Chapters 5 and 6 of the Gospel of John.  By the time we get to John 6:1, Jesus has attracted a huge following.  At least 5000, and that was likely just counting adult males.  Including women and children, that number could’ve been 10 or 15,000.

Jesus took the time to feed them all, and He didn’t just give them each a small ration of fish and bread.  They had so much food, they couldn’t eat all of it, leaving twelve basketfuls of leftovers.

But that wasn’t enough for them.

John 6:15 says they wanted to force Him to be their king, so He had no choice but to get away.  Eventually, they caught up with him, though, hungry and demanding more food.  Here they were in the presence of the Son of God, and all they could think about was themselves.

Sound familiar?

So who are you following?  And who’s following you?  How many Twitter followers do you have?  How many friends on Facebook?  How many people are subscribing to your blog?  And why are they following you?  Why are you following them?  And while we’re at it, why do you go to the church you go to?

These relationships you surround yourself with, these various communities and social networks, are they there just to serve your own needs, build up your own ego, make you somehow feel all warm and fuzzy?

Because that’s not what Jesus is about.

Yes, Jesus met His followers’ immediate needs by hosting an impromptu fish-fry.  But that’s not why He was there.  He was there to sacrifice Himself, die so that we could have something a lot better.

The crowd didn’t want that, though.  They only cared about what they could get from Him, not about what He had to offer.

Too often, I’m guilty of the same thing.  I go to church only to get something, not to be an integral part of the body of Christ.  I get excited when I have new Twitter followers or new blog readers.  I’m happy when it’s all about me, me, me.  As if I’m anyone important.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t be active online or that it’s wrong to promote your blog or whatever.  But I have to remind myself of what’s really important.  It’s not about some numbers on a web page or how many brownie points I get for having perfect church attendance.  It’s about developing a personal relationship with the Creator of the universe and showing His love to a world that desperately needs it.

Previously:
In the beginning…
A little social network housecleaning

Religion – except for the “Hail Mary” pass – has no place in sports.

In Tebow’s case, he should play football and forget about us sinners for 31/2 hours every Saturday.

Somehow, we’ll survive without him displaying a “John 3:16″ Bible verse under his eyes. We separate church and state. Why not church and sports?

Actually, I think we need more athletes like Tebow and Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and OU quarterback Sam Bradford: men and women who not only live out their faith off the field and out of the spotlight but who display it in the public eye as well.

Listen, I’m not a big Florida fan, and the Tebow hype is beyond ridiculous.  But greatly I admire him for standing up for what he believes, even if it’s not always the popular thing to do.

Previously:
What number are you?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. …

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.  We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

– John 1:1-3,14 (NIV)

What a revolutionary statement for John to make to his Jewish and Greek readers: that Jesus wasn’t just a guy sent by God but that He was God Himself.  Unlike Matthew and Luke, the Gospel of John doesn’t talk about the virgin birth or about Jesus’ lineage.  Instead, he goes all the way back to before Creation to show that Jesus existed even then.

I’ve read this Gospel numerous times, but I still don’t think I can fully appreciate this idea.  Before humans ever set foot on earth and certainly long before the Fall, Jesus already existed.  Because God knew we would need Him.

If you asked me whether I knew this already, I would’ve of course said yes.  But have I really stopped to think about the implications of it?  Have I really considered how amazing this Jesus person really is, that He was there before the planets, before the stars, before Genesis 1:1, knowing all along that His sole purpose was to be born in order to die, and yet He came willingly, full of love and full of grace for us.  For me.  For you.  For the soldiers who drove the nails into His hands and feet and hung Him on a cross.

So often I paint a picture of Jesus in my head, define Him in human terms, pay more attention to what He said than to who He is and why He ever lived in the first place.  I nod my head in agreement as I read along, filing away His words in my head, rarely stopping to think about who it is that spoke them.  Pretty arrogant, huh?

I need to rethink this Jesus guy.  It’s one thing to say He was born in a manger to a young virgin mother.  But those three words that introduce the Gospel of John literally change everything.

Previously:
¡Viva La Revolución!
‘His purpose in life was to go straight to the cross’

Today, the Texas State Board of Education begins debating social studies curriculum standards that would affect history, government, and economics classes in public schools for the next 10 years.  And naturally, the debate isn’t without controversy.

One of the biggest questions is how much emphasis should be placed on the role of Christianity in history books.  Critics argue that the Board is showing a clear Christian bias, including appointing conservative Christian experts to review current standards.

Some of the board-appointed reviewers are picking and choosing certain people and events from history to make an argument that America is a Christian nation, said John Fea, a history professor at Messiah College, a Christian school in Grantham, Pa.

“Students are not learning history. They are learning the facts about the past that suit some larger agenda, a cultural and political agenda,” said Fea, who has been following the Texas curriculum process.

“My best advice would be to respect the historians, respect the voice of historians,” said Fea, “and try to keep politics out of the teaching of history.”

A few observations here:

First, it’s impossible to teach history or government without discussing politics and religion.  Go on, try it.  It can’t be done.  It’s a proven fact that 99% of history involves politics and/or religion to some extent.  The other 1% mainly involves men in funny hats, but even that often is related to politics and religion.

Second, all historians have an agenda.  Don’t be fooled by their stunning good looks, these folks are serious.  And as someone with a History degree, I know of what I speak.  The reality is that history, while comprised of objective facts and statistics, is largely subjective.  What history “is” depends on how the historian interprets those facts and statistics.  So any time an “expert” tells you a history book is completely unbiased, they’re lying.  The bias might not be great, but it’s there.  The critics in Austin simply want to trade a bias that they don’t like for one that they do.

Third, the United States is a Christian nation, so to downplay the role of Christianity in our history is pretty reckless.  Now, when I say the U.S. is a “Christian nation”, what I mean is that Christianity has played a critical role throughout our existence.  Christopher Columbus, the Puritans, the Founding Fathers, the U.S. Constitution, slavery, the Civil War, Manifest Destiny, the Enlightenment, Prohibition, the Civil Rights Movement, abortion, gay rights.  Every single one of these topics was influenced in one way or another by Christianity.

Does that mean we should ignore the role of Judaism, Islam, or other religions in U.S. and world history?  Absolutely not.  But just because you discuss a particular religion in an historical context doesn’t mean you’re promoting it.

Finally, I’m struck by the irony of this debate.  This is the same Board of Education who only 6 months ago voted to eliminate the “strengths and weaknesses” requirement when teaching evolution in science classes, pretty much guaranteeing that evolution will go unquestioned in public schools.  The critics who argue that the Board is being biased with social studies now didn’t seem to mind them being biased with science back then.  I’m sorry, but you can’t have it both ways.

As I said back in January regarding the evolution question, I think students need to be able to do their own research and come to their own conclusions, and they should be free to question and debate as part of the process.  That’s true with science, and it’s just as true with history.

Previously:
Should evolution be debated in public schools?
Bill would protect the grades of students who disagree with evolution
History to be (re)written by the victors?

When the church began to doubt its own integrity after the Darwinian attack on Genesis 1 and 2, we began to answer science, not by appealing to something greater, the realm of beauty and art and spirituality, but by attempting to translate spiritual realities through scientific equations, thus justifying ourselves to culture, as if culture had some kind of authority to redeem us in the first place. …

In fact, much of biblical truth must go out the window when you approach it through the scientific method.  God does not live within the philosophical science He made, any more than He is bound by the natural realities of gravity.  There is moral law, to be sure, but moral law is not our path to heaven; our duty involves knowing and being known by Christ. …

In a culture that worships science, relational propositions will always be left out of arguments attempting to surface truth.  We believe, quite simply, that unless you can chart something, it doesn’t exist.  And you can’t chart relationships.  Furthermore, in our attempts to make relational propositions look like chartable realities, all beauty and mystery is lost.  And so when times get hard, when reality knocks us on our butts, mathematical propositions are unable to comfort our failing hearts.  How many people have walked away from faith because their systematic theology proved unable to answer the deep longings and questions of the soul?  What we need here, truly, is faith in a Being, not a list of ideas.

Previously:
When we worship God