People
disagree on Bella’s mental state when she jumps off the La Push cliff and into
the roaring ocean. Many of my friends think Bella doesn’t intend to kill herself; they conclude
Bella just didn’t think through her
plan. But I have to disagree. I really think Bella is suicidal here. I realize
that Bella’s inner dialogue may justify her behavior, but that’s how real
depression works. Depression can cloud your vision, cut off your hearing and
clog your thoughts. The voice of depression can call from unheard places.
Bella’s actions seem detached from her mind. She isn’t herself, and she can’t stop it. No
matter what you think about Bella’s jump, depression and suicide are real
problems in our fallen world. As our lives become more stressful, the
depression and suicide rates will only increase. Yet these problems are not new
to us. In fact, some characters in the Bible struggled with the same.
The
prophet Jonah of the famous whale story wanted to die after the people of
Nineveh looked to God. His bitterness overrode the joy of success. The prophet
Elijah won a great battle for God and still wanted to die. His fear overrode
his faith in God. King David suffered a deep depression when he realized the
consequences of his actions with Bathsheba. His guilt overrode his reality. And
Hagar, sweet Hagar, slave of Abraham and mother of his child Ishmael, sought
death for her son and herself after being sent away by Abraham's wife Sarah.
Her grief overrode the possibility of being loved. Yet God responded with love
and truth for each one of them. Doesn't He offer us the same? Ephesians 2:11-15
shares a key biblical truth - everyone gets a fresh start in Christ. In Christ,
we are no longer known as bad mistakes, screw-ups or sinners. We are not
defined by our experiences or emotions. The picture of our lives is no longer
framed by this world. God attaches our wagon to His star out of His lavish
grace poured out on us.
Within
Ephesians 2:11-15, Paul is talking about two groups of people. The first group
is Jewish people. Christianity has its roots in Judaism. The Old Testament is
all about the Jewish nation of Israel. God set apart Israel as His people to
tell the story of redemption. Only the Jewish people had access to God in the
Old Testament. The New Testament is all about increased access to God. Jesus
was a Jew, yet His purpose was to bring about a new faith founded in love for
God, not traditions and laws. In the first century, many Jews came into this
new faith, yet some had difficulty in giving up their Jewish ways and customs.
The second group discussed here is non-Jewish people or Gentiles. Gentiles are
beneficiaries of God’s increased access to Him through Jesus. (Most of us are
Gentiles by birth now.) When Christianity started, these two groups of people
didn’t always get along in the new community of Christ. Paul is pointing this
out in the text by reminding both groups of where they were before God. The
same is true for us today. We have a new existence established by Jesus Christ.