Years ago, Tom Hanks starred in a movie about a Fed Ex employee whose plane crashed in the ocean. As the plane’s only survivor, his character was “Castaway” to fend for himself in a strange new world, without the guidance and support of others. Through many trials and painful experiences, he learned to survive and was eventually rescued from his involuntary exile and reconnected with society. Sadly, his fiancé had married but he found new hope in a relationship with a young artist whose artwork he held on to during his castaway experience.
It was a riveting drama enjoyed by movie viewers across the globe. But it’s not always happy endings. In his book, “Lord of the Flies’, William Golding writes about a group of school boys whose plane crashes on a deserted island. All the adults on board were killed so the boys had to fend for themselves. Abandoned and left to their own devices, without adult supervision or support, they build a society based more on savage instincts than cooperative order.
Pulitzer Prize-winning writer William Raspberry, referred to “Lord of the Flies” as a reflection of what he saw happening with young black men in our country’s inner cities. He observed that without the constructive influence of older men to guide and direct them, the young men never developed a ‘moral compass.’ Instead they became ‘castaways,’ disengaged from their intended role in a productive society. Indeed, other news writers recently made this same comparison in view of the Baltimore riots.
But being a castaway isn’t relegated just to plane crash survivors or young men raised without fatherly guidance. Drastic changes in your health, the loss of a job, or a move can leave you ‘castaway’ from others. So can self-directed actions of pursuing a negative path of meaningless hobbies and harmful activities. New employees, without training and mentoring, become castaway in a sea of confusing job requirements. Neighbors living within feet of each other become castaway either by their own lack of engagement or by the disinterest of others. Church members, surrounded by hundreds of smiling faces, become castaways to their own island that no one bothers to visit because they are too busy connected to other pursuits. New believers are easily castaway when there is no interest in discipling them or in being discipled.
We become isolated in so many ways from others, from God, and from our life purpose. As a result we become castaway from the peace, love, and joy we were intended to experience. But the Good News is that we don’t have to remain stranded. We aren’t destined to be castaways on a remote island separated from the rest of the world. Whether our need is for guidance, support, or social engagement, we have a Rescuer who longs to free us from our exiled condition. God Himself longs to secure us with a moral compass to guide our way. He alone return us to our place of real belonging. He is the one who builds our faith, restores our hope, comforts our hearts, and strengthens our resolve.
If you feel cast away from friends, family, your purpose in life, or even God, today is the day to leave your island. Talk to God about your condition. Surrender to His perfect will. Set your eyes on Him and take His hand and let Him lead you to the place you belong.
“I have gone to prepare a place for you…and surely I am with you always.” John 14:2, Matthew 28:20