Previously NOT on 24

“The following events take place in real time”

I confess.

I am a “24” junkie. I thought I had kicked the habit of watching Jack Bauer save the world in a single day, but when I finally sat down to view the 4 hours of episodes I taped earlier in the week I had to admit, I still have a habit! After the first hour ended at 11:47 pm, I thought to myself, “I can go ahead and watch the next episode”. It was like the “one more small bite of ice cream”, the “just a little” piece of fudge, the “last slice of pizza that will not be good tomorrow” syndrome.

Perhaps the popularity comes through the cleverly innovative way the broadcast is filmed. “Events occur in real time.” There is no break in the day of one who has to “save the world” from terrorist attacks, assassination attempts, and a variety of other cataclysmic events threatening to effect our country in the next 24 hours. Call in Jack Bauer. The establishment doesn’t care for his tactics (torture, rage, and even law-breaking), but they know Jack can get the job done.

Here’s entertainment:

Housewives are still Desperate
Superman can be found in Smallville
Americans are looking for their next Idol
Ugly found beauty in Betty

We desperately want to believe there is someone out there who will “get the job done”; someone who can preserve our lifestyle, our consumption habits and do what is necessary, without us ever having to know what is going on behind the scenes.

Tomorrow, the President elect will be sworn in to office. Things will change, history is in the making. “His-story” is always in the making. Each 24 hours allotted to every individual on the face of the earth has the potential to be the last hours of their life. If we knew… how would we spend our day, at what sacrifice for others, what would the “real time” look like?

On the 31st of January, my “real time” events will begin and end on the other side of the world in India. It is a land filled with diversity, rich history, and over a billion people longing to understand and embrace “hope”. They have no reference point or speech (“I Have a Dream”) to elevate their status in life. Thousands of years of the caste system, makes it virtually impossible to rise above the circumstances of poverty or disease, injustice or racial bigotry and hope one day things will be different. Our country is built on freedom, but also on the ideology of “hope.” Anyone who works hard can overcome overwhelming obstacles and achieve greatness.

After hearing “Slumdog Millionaire” won the Golden Globe for Best Picture, I determined to see it before I returned to India. If you want to understand the India I see, the children I work with, see the movie. However, be warned – there are very graphic depictions of life for the children of the slums. There are scenes of horror for the orphans, several people walked out of the theatre during the showing. Even before the release of the film in India, it has sparked a wave of national pride, a movie filmed in India about India. And in the end, the “slumdog’s” life is changed by “destiny”. As believer’s our destiny is not part of a game show dependant on the right answer to the question. We don’t have three lifelines of choice: we have one. His name is Jesus. He keeps us from a feeling of desperation, He is more than a Super-man, He is God. He is not an Idol who sings, He is a Savior who serves. And while the scripture tells us, He had no physical beauty, He is beauty incarnate, the expressed image of God. He is saving lives each second, of every minute in our 24 hour day!

I confess.

I am nothing more than a slave to His wishes. His desire is that all be saved. His command is “Go and make disciples of all nations”.

I invite you to share in this adventure.

Pray
Give
Consider going in the future!