Getting Lost in ABC's dramas

For those who don't know, we are in the midst of the final season of the ABC drama "LOST." The show, which began in 2004, is about a group of strangers who crash landed on a mysterious island and all the ways they've become interconnected and struggled to find meaning in their lives and the events that have transpired.

LOST is a deeply layered, mysterious show. I'm a fan, and have been since it premiered, but I can't say I always understand what the writers are doing. Still, I find it compelling. As we work our way toward a conclusion (9 episodes and counting), it is interesting to see years of storylines rounding to a conclusion.

One thing that has struck me about LOST since the early days is how much the show is focused on searching for a deeper meaning in life. It's by no means a Christian show, in fact I think the concept of faith presented by LOST writers is more than a little warped. But it is about the struggle of good and evil, faith and reason and all the grey areas where our lives are lived.

LOST isn't the only show on ABC that seems to have a dual purpose. This year, the network launched two more highly serialized shows — V and Flash Forward — that are also about the search for answers. I've been struck this year by the fact that one of the most strangely liberal networks broadcasting is also the only one that's trying to grasp with life's bigger questions. Though LOST, V and Flash Forward all have basic human stories, it's the bigger life issues that underlie them that I find compelling.

Let me give you some examples: V is about an alien race that comes to Earth, the humans that embrace them for their surface goodness and the humans that believe they have more nefarious motives. Underlying that is the concept of being wary of false prophets. The V's come to Earth with new technology, promising peace and the ability to cure illness and provide a Utopian society. But one of the central characters, Father Jack Landry (Joel Gretsch), asks "Isn't it a little too convenient that they showed up offering to solve our problems when we needed them the most?" I believe it is. The evil one preys on us when we are at our most vulnerable, offering us prizes beyond his power in order to temp us to turn away from what we know is right. Look at how Jesus was tempted in the desert. We must be vigilant as believers, especially when we are feeling weak and vulnerable.

On "Flash Forward," the whole show presents an interesting theological puzzle. The idea is that everyone on Earth blacked out for two minutes, seeing what their lives would be like in exactly six months. Armed with that knowledge, they return to the present. For many of the characters, there is an investigation as to what caused the events, but the bigger question is what to do with the knowledge of the future. The more characters tried to prevent negative visions from happening, the more they seemed to set themselves on a course for it to occur. The central question of the show revolves around free will and predestination. It presents a number of interesting ideas for all of us, as believers, to wrestle with.

With "LOST," the central debate has always surrounded faith and reason, good and evil. The show began with very black and white views of both debates, but as it has progressed those views have shifted. I don't know where the show will end, but it is interesting to watch as these characters move closer to completing their journeys.

So what's the point? Television and movies provide us with entertainment and escape, but sometimes they also offer us a chance for deeper reflection. It's not the answers those shows provide that are important, but rather the questions they provoke. As much as I enjoy the weekly stories, I enjoy puzzling over the questions and finding answers in the only place they truly exist — the Word of God.