May 8, 2023
Melissa Valerio
Who here hasn’t watched the Twilight saga movies? Edward Cullen, the handsome vampire, falls in love with Bella Swan, the shy human introvert that just moved into town from Arizona. It’s love at first sniff for Edward, and Bella soon follows suit, but the problem is… he’s a vampire and she’s a human. He is immortal and she is not. And as much as they want to spend eternity together, Bella will eventually grow old and die, while Edward will stay the same age forever.
The solution to their problem comes 3 movies later in Breaking Dawn, where Bella and Edward (now husband and wife) discover that she’s pregnant. Because baby Cullen is half vampire/half human, the baby starts eating away Bella’s flesh from the inside out. Now on the verge of death, Edward does the only thing he can do to save his wife’s life — he converts her by making her immortal like him.
That story was fiction. But the reality is, unless we become like our Husband, Jesus, we will perish too. 1 John 2:15-17 says this, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father, but is of the world. The world and its desires are passing away, but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” The “world” here in these verses refers to pleasures that are tangible and immediate; that appeal to our pride, flesh, and physical senses. Things such as gluttony, sexual immorality, power, recognition from people, admiration, love of money and love of material possessions. All these things will eventually perish. Not to mention they pull our hearts away from God and eat us up from the inside out. Much like baby Cullen – whom Bella could not safely carry to term because of the war within her body between the “worldly” and the “eternal”. She could not survive with both of them living inside her, and truthfully, neither can we. But thanks be to God, once we receive Jesus as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside of us and is able to turn our love for the world into a love for Jesus. Making us fit for eternal life with our Husband.
Prayer: Lord God, You offer us eternal life through Your Son, Jesus Christ, whom You sacrificed to be a substitute on the cross for us. His blood is precious. Come into our spirits and transform these sinful hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. Make us like Your Son, that we may be with You forever. In Your Son’s name we pray, Amen.
Action: Our love for God cannot grow unless we spend regular time in His word (the Bible). Commit to spending time reading the Bible each day. It’s ok if you don’t understand what you’re reading, just read! The more you read, the more you will understand. The more you understand, the more interesting it will become. The more interesting it becomes, the more you will want to read. Soon, the word of God will become as sweet as honey in your mouth.