“Where are we going?”

Those were the words of Dr. Jack Shepherd (Matthew Fox) to his father at the conclusion of the six year television series, LOST, and they made me cry.  Why?  Because nothing, absolutely nothing could be sadder than someone not knowing what happens to them after death.

It is the same question a loving friend once asked me in a laundry room in Lubbock, Texas that led me to a relationship with Jesus, the Son of the One True Living God, and the blessed assurance of eternal life with Him after death.

When I heard this question I was feeling a little lost myself. I had just left behind all I had known, loved and worked years to establish and was headed for my first duty station as a new Navy wife.  We were folding towels when Judi Reed, the wife of my husband’s roommate at the Naval Academy, said, “Penny, if you died today would you go to heaven?”  My answer was something akin to, “Well, I guess so.  I mean, I go to church and try to be a good person.” 

How thankful I am Judi had a concrete answer to the question she had asked and did not leave me, like the characters in LOST and who knows how many viewers, with an answer left to individual interpretation. 

Judi lovingly explained going to church and being a good person are not what God requires for entrance into heaven.  She told me because of our nature we all go our own way instead of God’s way.  The Bible calls that sin. That is why we can’t live prefect lives and can’t say no to certain temptations.  No matter how hard we try we can never be perfect while God cannot settle for less. 

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  Romans 3:23 

But, because God loves people more than anything, He provided a way out of this hopeless situation through the life, death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus. (John 3:16).  All that was required of me was to believe this good news and, by faith, enter into a personal relationship with Him.

When I asked, “How do I do that?  How do I enter into a personal relationship with Jesus?”  My precious friend explained that God had made it very simple.  The way to step across the sin barrier that separated me from Him was through prayer.  All I needed was a desire to know Jesus, a willingness to pray, confess my sins, invite Him to come into my life and take control.  I was not quite sure of everything Judi was telling me but I understood enough to know that, without being a child of God, like the characters in LOST, I would be left to wonder, “Where are we going?” 

LOST ends with Jack’s father opening the doors at the back of the church and walking out into a bright light where he disappears as Jack is embracing characters from the show.  This scene suggests he too will turn and walk into the light ...

A question and answer session followed with a live audience who had watched together the final show. As cameras panned the crowd, men and women could be seen openly weeping.

I wept too. 

Not because the show was over. 

Not because the hero was dead. 

Not because of the powerfully portrayed exit of Jack’s father into the light as “happily-ever-after” music swelled, but rather because there was no one among them to answer Jack’s question with the Truth of God’s word.  

“Where are we going?” 

The answer is clear. 

The choice is yours.

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