There is a television show that I recently became obsessed with (which is a rarity in itself) but I just loved it. The show was called "Capture" and the premise was essentially an extreme, glorified game of tag. Each day a hunt team was selected from the casts' twelve teams of two, and the remaining teams became 'prey'. The hunt team had to complete two hunts, capturing one team each time, and eliminations were conducted against the captured teams (or the unsuccessful hunt team!) Players could also earn the chance to sabotage other teams or gain supplies. On each hunt, if a team stood still for longer than three minutes, their location would be revealed to the hunt team for the remainder of the game. They lived in a small village inside the 3,000 acre outdoor arena where hunts were performed, sleeping in cold tents with minimal food at each meal. Tensions rose as alliances formed and failed; teams were outcasted, bullied, favorited, and helped, adding their own social elements to play out in the games. Each contestant proved great strength and endurance just by surviving the living conditions-- let alone the daily hunt.
But I think my favorite part of the show was that through all the acting, all the people trying to look tough to become a threat, or weak so as not to be voted off, trying to play the social game and decide whether or not to hide the fact that they sabotaged another, through all the games within the grander game, you saw little pieces of each player being real. Really real. It came out when one of the supply stations contained a cell phone and the voices of mothers and best friends and boyfriends were heard for the first time in weeks, causing genuine tear to flow. It came out when teams realized they had been sabotaged and had to endure a new challenge amid the treacherous terrain to avoid capture. But mostly, it came out when teams were captured, when they lost the fight, when they knew they'd be facing elimination within a matter of hours. That is the place where the camera caught unbridled pride, deep pain, anger, sadness, defeat and remorse. About half of the time, people showed that their character was ugly. Mean. Selfish.
But the other half of the time, you'd see deep within the beautiful depths of a humble heart. When the players took their defeat well, when they cried "Good catch, good job, great game!" through the pouring, defeated tears, it excused all the meanness and bitterness previously exhibited and proved reason to sympathize once again. Even more so is when a team handled winning well. Not becoming haughty and prideful, not mocking the fallen team but taking their victory in a humble, intentional stride. Claiming it, but calmly, as if nobody needed to know.
Now the most upsetting part about my Capture obsession came the night before I watched the season finale. We didn't see it live on TV and had planned to watch it online. I was looking up a fan-site that evening, preparing myself for the next night's show, carelessly forgetting that other fans may have already witnessed it. And thanks to the glories of the Internet, would begin talking about the results.
And without warning, I came across... A spoiler. The final results. The ending of the end.
And I... Was so...
SAD!
Oh my goodness, was I ever sad! I mean look at the great number of words I just spent to just tell you about this little show-- I loved it! I told all my friends, I bugged my husband constantly with gossip about it. It was by far the most fun I had had with television in a long, long time.
And that was all ruined. Ruined! I did not just invest hours of my life to have the adrenaline pulled away in the final stage. The excitement smashed. The surprises stolen. To me, this was one of the greatest battles I had witnessed-- why, why would somebody ruin the ending??
And then, a thought hit:
"I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." John 16:33
My ending on this earth has already been ruined as well. The final lap has been run. The credits are rolling. The spoiler alerts taken down and the results shouted over the mountain tops. Jesus has won! He is King, he is victorious, he will forever be on the throne! For all the trials I will face in this life-- Christ has won. For all the tears I will cry, alliances that will break, sabotages that will come my way-- Christ has survived. For all times I will get captured by the delights of this world-- Jesus will set me free. Through the first siren signaling the start of the first hunt, to the final elimination when I am asked to leave forever-- Jesus will be there. As Savior. As Healer.
As Victor.
And every eye will once and for all witness the perfection of a win handled well. Of a champion who boasts not in pride but in his glory and his holiness. It will draw people to him like a moth to the flame, as he promises that every jail and iron bar will be torn down forever, that we'll never have to worry again about the dangers chasing us, and that we will at last be home.
With an ending as such, wouldn't you give anything just to play the game? Do you hear the siren signal? Let's start the hunt, sweet friend. Let's sleep outside in the cold, eat our meager food, build alliances to sharpen one another, and run- run!- because we do know the ending. Because nothing is uncertain. Because it's impossible to fail.
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" 1 John 5:1-5
Annnnd in case you're interested: Footage Montage!
I love my readers so much. Thank you for all your encouragement lately. It means more than you know!
Agape,
CC
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