While I
feel for Bella and Edward on their honeymoon, my humanity screams, “Why didn’t
you take precaution when you were having sex?” Neither do I know the mechanics
of vampires in the Twilight world,
nor will we discuss them here. Let’s just say that both Bella and Edward act
irresponsibly in neglecting birth control. They fully give into their sexual
desires without realizing the impacts. Our culture is saturated with sexuality.
It is a constant battle for Christians to live in wholeness within a broken
world. Paul addresses this fact in Ephesians 5:1-7. God loves us extravagantly.
He doesn’t hold anything back. In our human relationships, we usually proceed
with caution, but in our relationship with God, we can freely run into His
arms. Sometimes we can take our God-given desires to be loved and accepted and
ask other people or behaviors to fulfill them. This is not possible. Sexual intimacy
outside of marriage, greed and obscenity are all examples of this fact. While
these things may bring temporary pleasure, they do not have eternal effects on
our lives.
Ephesians
5:1-7 is convicting to me. I struggle with how I use my words. In the past, I
have used my words to destroy and tear down many relationships. While those
times of sin seemed fulfilling for a short season, they were never enough. My
words left others in self-defeat, yet that yearning to be something more was
never completely filled by these actions. So, I lost relationships with people
I loved, I hated myself for these actions and I still felt empty inside. While
my words are kinder now through God’s grace, I still struggle with it. God
continues to show me how to eliminate my foolish words through practice and
replenish my vocabulary with Bible verses. Part of this process has included
limiting my exposure to people and places that did not encourage wise use of
words. For me, that even means limiting my exposure to those who use religion
as batting practice for other people’s self-esteems. God’s love is pure. As
Paul says in this text, we should partner with those who are looking to the
light of Jesus Christ.
Back in Breaking Dawn, Bella finds partners in
unlikely places like Rosalie. Consequently, two characters stand up for truth.
Jacob stands up to protect Bella and her innocent baby, and Carlisle stands up
to protect Bella’s choice to proceed with the pregnancy. They both have other
influences who want different paths, yet both men know what they believe. This
is a crucial element of Christian living. It is important to know what we
believe and why we believe it. Knowing these things enables us to stand up for
our beliefs when they are questioned or stay in the minority. This is a
modern-day and ancient fact as evidenced in Ephesians 5:8-16. We live in an
unprecedented time in our history. Within the United States, we have
unparalleled access to the Bible and religious teaching about it. You can find
a teaching on any passage about the Bible on websites, in books or inside a
local church building. Religious views are everywhere. While we can find religious views for any
life situation, those views don’t mean much unless we believe and act upon
them. That requires standing up for what’s right and understanding the
consequences of it. Not everybody will agree with you or want to hang out with
you, and that’s okay. As long as we live in unity within the community of
Christ, we can disagree with each other in love.
Writing a
Bible study while using the Twilight series
as an example has been an amazing experience. Women of all ages have approached
me about their desire to see a love story through a biblical lens. Yet, I have
also experienced a large amount of criticism about it. Many people have shared
their disagreement and outrage with the idea of using a cultural phenomenon
within a Bible study. It has been a test of faith, to say the least. At times,
I have responded with loving words. Unfortunately, I have also responded with
sarcasm and disgust. This has been a learning experience in standing up for
truth. God’s love is true. Any good that comes from this study has its origin
in God. He directed me to write this study. As Paul says in this text, “Use
your head. Make the most of every chance you get.” We must know what we
believe, why we believe it and be prepared for the consequences of our belief.