Lost

Our God works in mysterious ways. Two months ago He gave me a vision of what our GI Monday Nights would be based upon in the Fall when my friend, colleague and former student Dusty threw out the idea of 'Lost' based on the hit tv show that many students watch. It seemed to have great potential and fit our audience well, so I decided to run with it. There were periods when I doubted it would be a good fit - most of my vision team knows little about the show and I was having a real hard time coming up with content.

Then this week, it all came together. And it's amazing how God often teaches you that the very things you spend all your time searching for are often right there in front of you.

It started with a Scripture search of the word 'lost' (thanks to gospelcom.net). Lots of references, few of them helpful. That was followed by a search of song lyrics containing the word 'lost'. Also largely helpless, although it did lead to some very interesting (mostly rap and really bad folk), intriguing yet dated (Cindi Lauper, Sting) and possible (Switchfoot, Ben Harper, Coldplay) song results.

But it still wasn't clicking.

Then it started to fall into place. It began with an internal urge late on a Friday night for one of my favorite songs - Coldplay's "Swallowed by the Sea." After listening to the words for a good 45 minutes, the vision was beginning to form. And, believe it or not, it came from the exact place I left our GI Monday nights at the end of last semester:

Are the streets you're walking on, a thousand houses long? Well that's where I belong, and you belong with me, not swallowed by the sea.

Wow, I'm not sure if Chris Martin was trying to hit the gospel on the head, but he did it in my mind.

Then on Sunday morning, the final piece fell into place. Kim and i went to a new church - New Hope - for the first time, ironically on their first day in a new building. The pastor was talking about 'Signs' and how they clog and mess with our minds. He talked about our need for clarity and how we are lost without the grace and hope that the Lord offers. He shaped his talk around Luke 15 - the prodigal son, probably my favorite and most taught part of Scripture.

We are all on a journey and the deeper we go into that journey, the more hopelessly lost we become without Christ as our guide.....