Sunday, May 2, 2010

Twilight by Jan Darnell

Edward Cullen, a dreamy vampire in the movie Twilight, asks the smitten Isabella Swan, “What did you expect, dungeons and coffins and moats?” Isabella answers, “No, not the moats.” Twilight is a fantasy that develops relations between a teenage girl, Swan and the handsome vampire, Cullen. At box offices on opening day, the Twilight movie grossed $35.7 million dollars in the United States and $384,997,808 worldwide. All ages have been drawn into this recent craze of vampire novels and movies, the most popular being “Twilight” and its sequel “New Moon.”

These stories, you understand, are not synonymous to those of the past where vampires drained blood from the arteries of their victims. No, these portray vampires as attractive and romantically inclined, which is precisely the infatuation that has captivated so many. Evil is depicted as good rather than intrinsically wicked and thus more palatable. Should this be? Can we just swab the deck of depravity with a deceptive whitewash of charm and purify hidden murderous intentions with romantic resolve? It would seem so by our standards today, but what would the righteous heart of Almighty God, the Judge of all the earth, say about it? How would our Creator and LORD evaluate any romanticizing of evil?

I have a bit of prophetic gifting in me that is difficult to assess at times because my views usually contradict mainstream opinions. Please understand that my driving passion is to present Jesus Christ as He is, so that salvation is both sure and secure to those who believe. I do not mean to offend and, for the sake of Christ, would not flirt with offense unless the greater transgression would be against God if I didn’t.

With that in mind, I am compelled to refute the recent trend of romanticizing evil. Our 2010 culture already preaches that morality is subjective to personal individual whims. Government decisions and rulings continue to remove Christianity as the founding faith of this nation, eroding our roots in Christ and eliminating the righteous laws of His Kingdom from our lives. Romantic terminology like “tolerance” and “peace” are being utilized to cover up America’s evil in forsaking God. In addition, those who adhere to the laws of His Kingdom are being tagged as criminals of “hate crimes” and viewed publicly as “intolerant,” even “violent.” This is the day in which we now live.

In response to this erosion of Christianity in America, love has emerged as a theme song in the Church to draw us all together, the godly and godless alike. God is love (1 John 4:8). Let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God (1 John 4:7). But what kind of love is this that is emerging? Is it a pure, righteous love or a covering of sin and romanticizing of evil flying under a flag of love?

God will have to be the Judge of that. His righteous Kingdom has righteous standards for living. The book of 1 John also says, Everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him (1 John 2:29). If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth (1 John 1:6). Jesus Himself said, If you love Me, you will keep My commandments (John 14:15).

If we are willing to love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds, then we must be willing to follow and keep His commandments. Then we will love one another rightly, not immorally or impurely by selfish standards, but by a higher standard that requires us to forgive and care for one another. And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you (Col. 3:12-13).

With our culture courting and romanticizing evil, the word “sin” is also fading from Church vocabularies, sermons and literature. This tragic mistake will thrust our already “dark” world into deeper depravity, because when the doctrine of sin is removed, then we have removed the reason for the sacrifice of Christ, the ultimate expression of God’s love.

You see, there is another twilight, one that came without deception in presentation. This twilight ordinance completely removes our bondage to evil, sin and death rather than covering it up. We saw the first glimpse of this freedom when God delivered Israel from Egyptian oppression and instituted the Passover feast for them to observe throughout their generations. With great signs and wonders, God brought His people out of Egypt in the last of ten plagues if they sacrificed an unblemished lamb at twilight and sprinkled their doorposts with the blood (Ex. 12). There is a distinction to be made between the twilight sacrilege that takes life and the twilight sacrifice that gives life. The vampire eventually drains the life blood from us, yet the Passover Lamb, Jesus Christ, shed His life blood for us. Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Sin must not be covered up or romanticized by the Church of Jesus Christ. The consequence of sin is always death, which is why we are to follow God’s commands and righteous ways (Ro. 6:23). As the vampire destroys life, sin does too. That is the reality of both. But there is good news for the sinner. When we see our sinfulness and choose to look for true love, then Jesus Christ can be found by all who seek Him. He doesn’t hide sin. He removes it. That is God’s Twilight love story and one that we can believe, receive and pursue with confidence in the forgiveness of Jesus Christ!

3 comments:

Tami with an i said...

Well said, Jan. I love your unapologetic honesty. I agree that the 'church' isn't doing anyone any favors by allowing blatant sins to continue. Before anyone gets upset, we all sin, but when it becomes accepted it affects the church and I believe God's willingness to show up. Angels and demons are in a constant spiritual battle. Sin should be recognized, repented of and turned away from. Like it or not, when it is not you are inviting demons and not welcoming God.

Emily F. said...

Love it, Jan. Relevant and well said.
-Jenn Fromke

Ann said...

Jan,this is most excellently written. You have portrayed how deceitful and attractive evil can be, especially in the eyes of our young people. God help us to invest more time in teaching the word to our children and our children's children and develop more programs and studies that are geared to the younger generations so that they will know a wolf in sheep's clothing.