Not lost now

I watched the final episode of Lost and was amazed at the love the writers showed their characters. Never have I seen such a fitting end to so many wonderful characters. Never have I felt that love is treasured and their is a place that we all go so much as when I watched that show.

I know, I know. It's a television show. But it reminds me of how much homecoming will mean to us one day. Lost told us that, at least I think it told us, that heaven is a non-timed event. That when we die, we come together with those whom we love. Christians believe that to be with not only our human loved ones but with Christ himself. It was terribly fitting that the last 15 minutes of the television show the main character was led around by Christian Shepherd (his real name on the show for six years) and that it ended with a church and a great light at the end of the hall.

You know, the Bible has some wonderful things to say to us about coming home.

Paul's letter to the church in Corinth says this in the Message: "For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven—God-made, not handmade—and we'll never have to relocate our "tents" again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move—and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what's coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we're tired of it! We've been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies! The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less.

"That's why we live with such good cheer. You won't see us drooping our heads or dragging our feet! Cramped conditions here don't get us down. They only remind us of the spacious living conditions ahead. It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going. Do you suppose a few ruts in the road or rocks in the path are going to stop us? When the time comes, we'll be plenty ready to exchange exile for homecoming."

Exile for homecoming...what a thought. There will come a time when we get together with our cousin Adam and his beautiful wife Eve; when we get to talk wandering with our uncle Abraham; when we get to hear David tell about the time he stared down a giant; when we get to hear the stories of Paul's travels from Paul himself. Exile for homecoming...this life of pain for that life of gain, this life of sorrow for that life of superior worship, this life of living day to day to that life of living eon to eon or longer.

Exile for homecoming is exchanging hope for viewing clearly, seeing Aunt Nita and Mama 'n 'em and all those dogs and cats and aunts and uncles and my son-in-law Danny and everyone.

There's a song on the radio right now that says this: "Save a place for me, save a place for me, I'll be there soon, I'll be there soon." Seems to me that was the ending of the television show Lost. Seems that's what I so long for in my own life.

Exile for homecoming, resurrected bodies for worn out ones, folded down tents for streets of gold.

I can't wait to go home. I once was Lost, but now I'm found.