In the
beginning chapters of Eclipse, Edward
uses demeaning words and actions to manipulate Bella. While his statements about
Bella may be true, this is not healthy behavior in a romantic relationship. If
you are dating someone who treats you this way, run in the opposite direction.
If you are married to someone like this, seek help from safe friends and
resources. It works out well for Bella and Edward in the Twilight series, but Edward’s behavior is not a good model for
human relationships.
This is
where I wish we had the other side of the story in the Twilight series. Author Stephenie Meyer wrote a large portion of Twilight from Edward’s perspective.
Unfortunately, it was leaked to the internet before she was ready to release it
as a character study. Meyer swore to give up writing any more Twilight-related books after this
betrayal. You can read the excerpt called Midnight
Sun on Meyer’s website.11 In this excerpt, we learn more about
Edward’s thought process with Bella. He is much more sensitive and vulnerable
than what we see in the original Twilight
series. I so wish that we had the Edward version of Eclipse! I don’t believe his actions wouldn’t seem as overbearing
for a vampire if we knew his internal thoughts.
Edward is
passionate about his beliefs and his desire to keep Bella safe. The apostle
Paul was a passionate human. He wrote with great fervor and urgency to his
readers. In Ephesians 3:1-6, he expresses his intense feelings for his audience
and what God has to offer. Here, Paul knows that God has called him into a
ministry for those on the outside, as he described in Ephesians 2:11-22. He has
gone to jail so those who were unwelcomed in the past could now find access to
God. His calling is sharing the mystery of Christ, which is that we all have
the same opportunity to find salvation in God.
Do you
remember the two groups, the Jews and the Gentiles, that we discussed in the
last chapter? Living in the 21st century, we lose the timing of this
passage and its profound impact to the readers. Christianity was only decades
old when Ephesians was written. The animosity between the Jews and Gentiles was
extreme. Uniting these two groups under one head, which is Christ, would be
comparable to uniting the Sunni people and the Shiite people of Iraq or even
the vampires and wolves in the Twilight
series. It seems impossible, yet that’s what God offers to everyone. God has
the power to unite the world. It is a profound mystery that we find equality at
the cross of Jesus Christ. Not many places or people in this world promote such
unity and sameness as the God of the Bible does. He is “accessible and
welcoming to everyone, across the board.” We can still maintain our
individuality while being part of a community in Christ. Isn’t that great news?