Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, and Jesus

A friend sent me the first book in the Twilight series for my birthday. After the fifth page, I was consumed for two weeks until I finished the last in the series of four books. Very good read; even though it is, essentially, a teenage love story. I have a thing for vampires, the good ones at least, thus my obsession with CW’s, The Vampire Diaries. I honestly think it’s the best show on television, though I get a lot of slack for saying so. I think it’s the internal battle for morality that captivates me. I’m a sucker for good vs. evil. (pun intended)

Stefan in The Vampire Diaries, Edward in Twilight…the eternal struggle of doing right when nature calls to do wrong. It’s not a new story; it’s thee epic story – the story that most world religions are based upon. We all need redemption. We can abstain and fight our inherent sinful natures but in the end, nature usually overrides. A vampire’s natural tendency is to drink blood. My natural tendency is to sin, to covet and lie and steal. Abstinence isn’t enough. It is impossible to live sinless in this broken place. Perfect morality is unattainable.

Also, intricately intermingled in these teenage dramas are passionate love stories…Edward and Bella, Stefan and Elena – the lengths and heights they are all willing to go to love and be loved. They overcome legitimate fears and self-protection in order to fight for the one they love because they know what we all should know; love redeems even the most basic instincts and natural cravings. Love conquers all; always. If we let it.

The love affair that redeems humanity is Jesus. His sacrifice is what makes me clean and gives me hope for the future. God’s love story with the world is the great hope and true salvation. Like the “good vampires,” we can all try to be moral and live well but without the hope of glory, redeeming love, saving grace, we are doomed.

I’ve based my life on the concept; I’ve chosen to give my heart to the one who died on a cross so I could live. Not flawlessly, but following a path of honesty and seeking. I believe good wins, in the end. Love finds a way to redeem even the most hideous of human behaviors. Like Edward, like Stefan, the trying is the mark of good and while perfection is impossible, it’s the journey toward the light – in opposition to the darkness – that changes sinners into saints.