People are laughing at me! The reason? I have become hooked on Fox's new series Terra Nova. Ok, I admit that this digitally driven fantasy show is simply Jurassic Park for TV, but there is something about a dying world given the chance for new life that resonates with me.
The premise? The year is 2149 and the earth is dying because of man's environmental and technological abuse. A pathway is found to the prehistoric past where a selected few might give humanity a new start by joining a colony called Terra Nova. Though all arrive with high expectations and a renewed vision for life, trouble still lurks (enter man's sinful nature in the form of greed, corruption, and power, as well as some pretty nasty dinos!). These colonist (exemplified by the Shannon family who has all the baggage of a modern day family, including the intricacies of parenting teenagers) seek to forge a new life in a new world with some age old problems.
In some ways I guess this show reminds me of what it means to be a Christ-Follower in a fallen world. Though we, as those who have come to know Jesus in a personal way, have been rescued from a dying world, and have been brought into a new Kingdom, get a new chance to do life over, we still live in a dangerous and imperfect world. We are learning how to navigate this new life we have in Christ amongst those who give no credence to the Kingdom of God and are still dead in their sins. Yet our mission in this new life is more than just survival, but colonization. Colonization became a dirty word in relation to Christianity during the age of discovery from the 15th to 17th centuries, with politics and religion working together for the subjugation of indigenous peoples, but that is not the kind I am talking about here.
We, as believers, are in the business of colonizing Terra Nova, or "New Earth". And it is this new earth that is promised in scripture for those who believe.
The Apostle John speaks of this new earth in Revelation 21:1. "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more." This future new earth is reserved for those who have come into a faith relationship with the God of the universe through His Son Jesus Christ. As followers of His, we are called to share the good news of His kingdom so that others, marred and dying in a fallen world might find the pathway to new life in Him, and, to this eternal place of rest and relationship with our Savior.
So, Christian, what are you doing today to help others find the pathway to eternal life? Are you looking to share the good news of Jesus with those who need a new beginning? Are you helping them find Terra Nova?
