Eli Stone is all about hope. The basic premise of the show is that Eli (Jonny Lee Miller) is a modern-day prophet. He's a partner in a big law firm with a brain aneurysm that miraculously causes him to have visions, which provide clues about which cases and clients he needs to pursue. His visions come from GOD, and if he follows them (basically follows GOD's leading), he is able to really help people and make a difference.
Some of the episodes have really been out there spiritually, and so I'm not saying that one will gain deep spiritual insights by watching the program or that the Gospel is clearly presented with a nice big red bow. It's not like that. After all, Sigourney Weaver has played the role of God in a few episodes, and I must confess that THAT has been a huge stretch for me. But at the core of the show is Eli's gift and his potential to change his world. If he follows the direction that his visions lead him, he can better humanity; but if he chooses to go against the visions, something disastrous always happens maybe not right away but it does happen. But he always has that choice, that opportunity to take the path less traveled or to do his own thing. Each episode he learns something more about himself, about the role of the visions and their effect on the people closest to him. His character is growing week by week. He's evolving into a better man. He's becoming who he was meant to be by following the will of God.
The show doesn't point the viewer to Christ or direct them toward GOD really. But what it does is show us what one person with hope can do. Deep down we all know that there is more to the pursuit of happiness than things and possessions. We're wanting something more. We're looking for something better. We're seeking hope. Hope of a better future. Hope for a world driven by love not fear. Hope is an attractive thing, and I think people are drawn to it especially in those darkest moments. And let's face it, things are more than a bleak right now. The economy is failing, people are losing their jobs and homes, marriages are under duress because of those financial pressures--people are struggling and in need. Right now, things aren't looking all that rosy, but even now there is hope. It's always darkest just before the dawn...before the light of hope beams through, before Aslan steps in, or before the one ring is ultimately destroyed, etc. [Yes, I know I went back to literature references again instead of real life. Sorry about that. I'm a book junkie!]
Tonight while watching the last episode of Eli Stone for 2008, I was convicted. I know, I just said that there weren't spiritual nuggets to glean from the show, but tonight the show really got me thinking more deeply. Hope is not just a gooey warm feeling that tomorrow will be better. It's not just a dream or a vision for the future. Hope is a PERSON--GOD's own SON, JESUS CHRIST. And as a Christian, I already have that HOPE. That HOPE lives within me. But am I living like I possess it or rather that HOPE possesses me? Am I properly reflecting the HOPE that resides within my own soul? Do people see me as one filled with hope or are they seeing someone quite different?
LORD, I need YOU. I need the hope that only YOU are and that YOU provide. Help me to better shine the light of YOUR hope, the ultimate HOPE, on the lives of those around me.
Psalm 39:7 "But now, LORD, what do I look for? My hope is in YOU."*Taken from Chris Tomlin's Song Jesus Messiah
Psalm 71:5 "For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD, my confidence since my youth."
*All our hope is in You
All our hope is in You
All the glory to You, God
The light of the world
Jesus Messiah
Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer
Emmanuel
The rescue for sinners
The ransom from Heaven
Jesus Messiah
Lord of all*
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