Zombies, Death, and Survival

Hello HS Parents!

This past Wednesday night we talked about Zombies. I realize that might seem like a strange subject for church, but zombie movies and zombie culture are really popular among high school students right now. It actually offers a GREAT platform for us to talk about death, the afterlife, and even people who came back to life in the Bible - like Lazarus and, of course, Jesus.

Most of our discussion revolved around the fact that the craze that is zombie culture right now has more to do with survival than it does zombies. The “real” story in all of the zombie movies and TV shows is that the people left alive are trying to stay that way. We discussed that this natural feeling to want to live is strong in all of us. In fact, when we see someone who fears living more than they fear dying (read: suicide), it is painfully clear that something is wrong mentally and emotionally. 

The bulk of our conversation focused on the eleventh chapter of John’s gospel. My main point was that no one that I knew had actually met Lazarus…because he was dead. Well, wait a minute…didn’t Jesus bring Him back to life? Yes, but he died…again. That’s what makes Jesus different than any of the people brought back to life in the Bible - they ALL died AGAIN. But He is the ONLY person in history who died, came back from the grave, and is STILL LIVING!!

If you haven’t done so in a while, give John 11 a read this weekend. Talk about with your students the feelings of Mary and Martha. Talk about what Jesus might have been feeling. If your students are into it, grab a Zombie movie from Red Box or catch World War Z on Netflix. You might find an easy doorway to a conversation about death AND life, abundant life, using something that is a “known” in their world already.

- MIchael