lessons from 24

My buddy Danny recently gave me the first season of 24 as a birthday gift. I have been hooked. I've been so into it that I even watch it on my computer at work while I eat lunch if I'm there alone.

Without giving anything away, the basic plot is that Jack's wife and daughter (Teri & Kim) have been kidnapped and there is a plot to assassinate the man who would be the first black presidential candidate (Palmer). Somehow all of these things are related. Last night I watched two episodes before I went to bed ("10am-11am" & "11am-12pm"). They were so intense! I wanted answers to my questions: Would Jack get to his family before the bad guys killed them? Would the bad guys find the missing cell phone? Did Palmer do 24 or Allstate insurance commercials first?

But the best scene caught me off guard. Jack has been up for over 24 hours, 12 of them searching for Teri & Kim, and he has cornered a man he is convinced knows their whereabouts. When this man refuses to cooperate Jack kills him. And then something amazing happens. My favorite fictitious CTU agent breaks down and starts to cry and I almost did, too. While I've never dealt with stakes as high as Jack, I could identify with his feelings of desperation. You want something so badly and are so convinced that this one thing (or person) will bring you happiness and when it doesn't you are crushed. I used to do it all the time when I was in school: "If I can just get through this next test, I'll be fine." And that's good for a few days until the next test comes along.

Unfortunately, I still do it today when I go to work or am trying to fix other things in my life that don't go the way I want them to. Why is it that no matter how hard I try to make things perfect it doesn't work? It's because I forget that I'm not perfect and the only thing that is perfect in my life is Christ. I can't do anything without Him. I need to be pointed back to Christ and His grace on a regular basis. As uncomfortable as it can be and as much as I don't like to admit that I need help, I do. We all do. Praise God that we've been given a Savior who picks us up time and time again.