faithMile

This article contains details about the Dr. Linus episode of LOST. If you haven’t seen the episode and do not wish to be spoiled, please stop reading now.

In the Dr. Linus episode of the television show “LOST” there is wonderful parallel to forgiveness and redemption in Christ. In the show, there is a mysterious, God-like character named Jacob. Jacob appears to several characters in the show, and literally touches them. That touch changes their lives in profound ways. The most dramatic way is that they are drawn to a mysterious island and convinced to do Jacob’s will above all else, making many sacrifices in the process.

Ben Linus makes one such sacrifice, but it proves too much to bear. He unwittingly sacrifices his daughter in order to protect Jacob’s island. Later, when given the chance to kill Jacob – even being told to by Jacob’s enemy – he does the unthinkable. He kills his God. Jacob dies.

But Jacob also has a daughter, Ilana. She is alive and well, and currenlty protecting Jacob’s island as well as all of the people he has touched. Jacob’s daughter finds out that Ben killed Jacob, so she prepares to kill him. To maximize her revenge, she makes him dig his own grave first. While he is digging, he gets a visitor. It’s Jacob’s enemy – the man in black – the one who told Ben to kill Jacob. Jacob’s enemy frees Ben from the shackle that Ilana used to imprison him while he dug. Then, he asks Ben to join him. He walks away – fully expecting Ben to follow. But Jacob’s daughter has noticed that her prey has been loosed and she goes after it. Ben stops her from shootiong him by offering to explain why he killed Jacob. He tells her that he had a daughter and he wathed her die because he chose the island. Jacob’s island. Jacob’s mission. Jacob’swill. He felt that he had lost almost everything. The only thing he had left was his power – and he used it to kill the one who caused him to lose everything else. He regrets this deeply and asks Ilana to let him live.

Ilana, moved, decides not to shoot. Instead, she asks him where he’ll go. He replies that he will join Jacob’s enemy. She asks why. His reply, “Because he’s the only one who’ll have me.” She pauses briefly and then replies: “I’ll have you.” He follows her back into the camp and takes his place as a member.

In our lives, we are also lost, and God provides an answer by telling us to follow him. Follow his lead. Follow his voice. Follow his will. Sacrifice ourselves to his purpose. Hold to nothing. Sacrifice everything. Like Ben, we often experience a crisis of faith. We cry, “We’ve sacrificed, God, but for what?”

In the interim between what we have sacrificed and the “big reveal” that will make it all make sense – that will make our sacrifices and the pain that goes with them, make sense – we doubt. We lose faith. We lose hope. We want to give up and go our own way. To be free. To kill God. Sometimes we do. Sometimes we throw off God’s purpose. We leave the path. We turn. We sin.

But, like Jacob, God has a child, a son, who exists to protect his purpose. God’s son will come to us and confront us with our sin. He reminds that our sin has dug our grave and that we are chanied and deserving death. And when we repent, when we are contrite, when we cry out to be spared and then offer to slink away from the light and join the camp of the enemy because that is where we deserve to be – the one who will have us – we get a similar reaction. The son of God, Jesus, puts away anger. He experiences death for our sake. And, after dying on our behalf, the son of God says to us: “I’ll have you.”

by Kevin Eikenberry

“Make it a habit to do nice things for people who’ll never find out.”
– Life’s Little Instruction Book

Got something for you to try. The next time you are at a toll booth, after paying for your toll, pay for the person behind you too! I had read of this idea several years ago, paying for the next person and asking the toll taker to give them your business card. (Apparently at least one realtor has done very well with this marketing approach.)

I always thought this was an interesting tactic, but had left it at that. Last week, though, as I neared the Bay Bridge, heading towards San Francisco, I was reminded of this idea, by a friend and associate, Leslie Brunker. She said that she always pays for the person behind her, anytime she’s at a toll booth. So, that’s what I did, I told the toll taker to pay for the next person, and tell them “Happy Valentine’s Day.” This led to a discussion of Leslie’s experiences in doing this, with some great stories of how people respond. During our conversation, the receiver of my dollar, barreled up along side me and waved a thank you.

The entertainment value was worth the dollar, but that is not why I am recommending you try it. I’m recommending it for what it does for the other person. Ever find a quarter on the ground? What happens after you find that quarter? Are you a bit nicer? Are you a bit more friendly, is there a bit more lightness in your step? I’ll bet the answer is yes to all three of those questions.

There was even a study done to look at what is now called the Good Samaritan Effect. In the study researchers stood near a pay phone and studied the people who made calls. One of the things they learned was that nearly everyone checks to see if there are any coins in the coin return after placing their call. The urge is nearly irresistible, to see if the machine made a mistake and returned your quarter.

This behavior gave the researchers an idea. The next day they randomly placed coins in the coin return slots, so that some people did actually discover money. The researchers then had a young woman walk by the phone at the exact moment the people were hanging up. When the woman walked by with her arms full of books, she pretended to stumble and drop them on the ground.

What they learned was that the people who had just found money in the coin return were four times more likely to stop and help the women with her books than were those who didn’t find any money. They concluded that when we feel good, we tend to do good.

This simple act of helping someone – with no desire (or possibility) of repayment is good for us and our self image, and it may positively change the life or outlook of the receiver for the day!

Maybe you don’t have a toll booth near you. But there are other ways to apply this advice.

Pay extra in the parking meter.

Randomly drop coins as you run or jog

Put a coin in the coin return – pay phone, candy machine, newspaper machine, wherever!

Buy a movie ticket for the next guest who walks up (especially if there is no one in line!)

These are just a few. There are many other ways! I’d love to hear what your experiences are with trying this, and what other ways you find to try it. Please send those on to me – I’ll happily put together a postscript for the everyone else.

Try it today – you’ll be glad you did!

by Dean F. Mapa

Lina beams for the camera. As a backdrop slightly above her head, bold letters emblazon the word, “Congratulations!” Lina was recently graduated from her elementary education at the age of 16 years.
What’s so special about this? Lina is one of the girls at the center for street children I voluntarily work for. Born from a poor family, Lina grew up in the streets without proper nutrition and abused by adults. Because of this she is a slow thinker. She was in fact called “Dumb and Dumber” by the other street children. She couldn’t even steal properly.

Rescued by our center, she was then placed under a UNICEF-sponsored education program in one of the local schools. Lina, against all odds, inched her way from grade to grade and finally received her certificate of graduation. It was, indeed, a prized possession for her!

How did she do it and what can we learn from this former street urchin?

She didn’t allow herself to be influenced by others’ talk. Her street peers thought she couldn’t do it. She was called names. They judged her hopeless. She refused to listen and instead pressed on. She listened to her own heart, which told her she could do it.
She developed positive thought. She knew she was a slow thinker, but she didn’t waste mental energy in confirming this. Instead she sought to convince herself that education was important and the more she learned, the faster she would be able to think. She sought to train her mind.
She wasn’t afraid. She didn’t allow the environment from whence she came to instill fear in her to go to school, a totally different world from the “education” of the streets. Yes, she was apprehensive at first, but she used this as a launching pad for her determination.
She lived one day at a time. Asked teasingly what her secret was when she received her certificate, she answered: “I went to school each day.” Indeed, the graduation was a cherished goal, but to get there she had to start and finish each school day.
The resources to achieve our goals are already within us. Lina, although it can be said had nothing, now has the best thing after all: the heart to achieve. Now, watch her conquer the world!

Dean F. Mapa is a writer, motivational speaker and inspirational coach. Visit his Web site, www.be-inspired.org.