In the final episode of the TV series ‘Manifest,’ we are taken on a journey that challenges the boundaries of time, faith, and destiny. As the characters grapple with profound questions, it provides an opportunity for Christians to reflect on their own beliefs.
Facing Uncertainties in Life
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
Proverbs 3 v 5-6
and do not rely on your own understanding.
6 Acknowledge him in all your ways,
and he will make your paths straight.
The characters in Manifest face uncertainties about the future now that the death date has arrived. What happens next? The Bible encourages reliance on God’s plan even when the path seems unclear. Proverbs 3 reminds believers to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
Redemption and Forgiveness
In this final episode Manifest touches on redemption and forgiveness with those surviving clearly demonstrating a changed heart. At the end those that survive all receive second chances.
13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others.
Colossians 3 v 13
As Christians we know forgiveness through the death and resurrection of Jesus and through him we can find hope. Colossians 3 also encourages believers to forgive each other as Christ has forgiven you. Towards the end of season 4 this happens more and more as fellow passengers facing a future with death, start seeking forgiveness from each other, siblings and parents and friends. The final episode brings this to a head in one exciting part as Eagen seeks to see his friend live.
Free Will vs God’s Plan
Throughout all 4 seasons of Manifest their is a clear tension between passengers who want to do their own thing and passengers who want to follow the callings. As Christians we grapple with the concept of making choices while trusting in God’s overarching plan.
28 And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose,
Romans 8 v 28
Romans 8:28 reassures believers that all things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. v 29 which talks about predestination asks a larger question which I won’t go into here.
Eternal Perspective
Throughout Manifest time and eternal perspective are topics that keep arising. Passengers battle with knowing that their death date is 5.5 years away and even knowing the day they will die. As Christians we have to consider the brevity of life for those who don’t know Jesus. We have an opportunity to share with those around us the importance of a relationship with God.
18 because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.
2 Corinthians 4 v 18
Community and Support
Excitingly throughout Manifest, passengers learn to rely on each other for support. During challenging times some characters try to go it alone and soon learn it isn’t possible. By the end, Ben one of the lead characters is calling many of the passengers family. This reflects the biblical notion of community and family and the importance of fellowship. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 highlights the strength found in companionship, emphasising that two are better than one.
9 Two people are better than one,
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
because they can reap more benefit from their labour.
10 For if they fall, one will help his companion up,
but pity the person who falls down and has no one to help him up.
Hope in Adversity
The Bible provides reassurance in times of trouble and Ben continually encourages the passengers to board the ‘lifeboat’ and in so doing provides hope to many passengers who are facing the death date. He continually points to the hope that they can solve the riddle of the death date and in so doing, live (and in fact save the planet)! Romans 12:12 encourages believers to be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer.
12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer.
Romans 12 v 12
Manifest serves as a reminder of the significance of trust, forgiveness and family in navigating our turbulent lives on the globe we call earth. I hope that in watching the series you may find resonance with your own Christian journey and be inspired to deepen your faith in the midst of life’s mysteries.
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