I Found God in 'Breaking Dawn...'

I am a Christian.
I also LOVE fantastical tales.
One of my favorite series of books is Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series.

And yes, it is a book about Humans, and Vampires, and Werewolves.

But the point of this blog is opening your eyes to God's way of weaving Himself into everyday, ordinary life, and I have found God in many fantastical stories - Twilight included.

I really believe author John Granger's thesis on fiction: That all humans naturally resonate with stories that reflect the greatest story ever told-- the story of God who became man... [and that] parents wanting to share the Christian message of love's victory over death, of our relationship to God the Father through Christ, even of Christ's two natures and singular essence [can find it in many fictional tales... naturally woven throughout the stories].
~Looking For God in Harry Potter, p. xix

In this particular case - I notice a distinct similarity between a scene in Meyer's 4th book, Breaking Dawn, and one who accepts Jesus into her heart:


*NOTE: if you are a Twilight Fan and and haven't yet read Breaking Dawn, this contains spoilers of a BIG nature. Please stop my post, go read the book, and then return! :)




When Jacob (a werewolf) finally "imprints" (find his soul mate), the change in his mind, body, and soul is described in this manner:

My shaking jerked to a stop; heat flooded through me, stronger than before, but it was a new kind of heat - not a burning.

It was a glowing.

Everything inside me came undone as I stared at the tiny porcelain face of the half-vampire, half-human. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was - my love for the dead girl upstairs, my love for my father, my loyalty to my new pack, the love for my other brothers, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my self - disconnected from me in that second - snip, snip, snip - and floated up into space.

I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was.

Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables all tying me to one thing - to the very center of the universe.

I could see it now - how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain.

The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.

It was... [the girl] ... that held me here now.
~Breaking Dawn, p. 359-360

What if you changed a few words?
What if the catalyst for that change was not a mere person (or vampire or whatever) - but Jesus Christ? It would read something like this:

[I felt] a new kind of heat - not a burning.

It was a glowing.

Everything inside me came undone when I accepted Christ into my heart. All the lines that held me to my life were sliced apart in swift cuts, like clipping the strings to a bunch of balloons. Everything that made me who I was - my love for my family and friends, my hatred for my enemies, my home, my name, my stuff, my self - disconnected from me in that second - snip, snip, snip - and floated up into space.

I was not left drifting. A new string held me where I was.

Not one string, but a million. Not strings, but steel cables. A million steel cables all tying me to one thing - to the very center of the universe.... To God.

I could see it now - how the universe swirled around this one point. I'd never seen the symmetry of the universe before, but now it was plain.

The gravity of the earth no longer tied me to the place where I stood.

It was... God ... that held me here now.

Proverbs 3:5 (The Message)
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don't try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he's the one who will keep you on track.

Don't assume that you know it all.

Run to God! Run from evil!

Your body will glow with health,

your very bones will vibrate with life!

Honor God with everything you own;

give him the first and the best.

Your barns will burst,

your wine vats will brim over.

But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;

don't sulk under his loving correction.

It's the child he loves that God corrects;

a father's delight is behind all this.

Two things I get from this:

1. That God can speak to us in my ways - through many different venues. I find him in Harry Potter, Twilight, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc. - places where others would deem unlikely, but places where God knows He can find me.

2. When you open your heart to God's love, the ties that bind you to Earthly "things" are severed. And, the new "steel cable" now tethers you to Him and the truths of His Word.

The safest way to navigate the tough and tricky journey of life, is to secure yourself to One who created this Life in the first place. The glowing you will feel is worth it.

♥ Mags

Credits:

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Looking for God in Harry Potter by John Granger

Verses from http://www.biblegateway.com/