The other day I had a pretty sad experience at work (Well at least I thought it was sad). I was in the break-room microwaving my weight watchers popcorn (which I didn't know was weight watchers at the time, but that's irrelevant) when I heard a group of 40+ married women with children arguing about which vampire from Vampire Diaries was sexier, Stephan or Damen, and I don't care if their names are spelled wrong.....THEY ARENT REAL PEOPLE!!! Anyway, I stood there for the 2 minute popping period listening to these women, and it got me thinking about this whole vampire craze that is going on. I mean even when I was little I spent a lot of days wanting to be a vampire. I would quote the famous line "I want to suck your blood!" that I didn't even know where it came from, I just knew it had to do with this creature I wanted to turn into. And even now we see the vampire obsession continueing with shows like Vampire Diaries, True Blood and Movies like Twilight (and I tentatively put that movie in there.......Glittering Vampires......come on.....really!!!). I would think to myself how crazy it is that vampirism is constant part of culture no matter how much culture has changed. I mean there are stories of blood sucking, flesh eating creatures dating all the way back to ancient Greece. Yet no matter how culture changes, no matter how society develops and evolves vampires are always there ready to take to on the popular cultural diversities of the time.
It was amazing to me......that is until I started thinking about the main features/attributes of vampires that intrigue people the most. The IMMORALITY that comes with the vampridic condition and the constant thirst for BLOOD to survive. I began thinking about these attributes and then as if a light bulb turned on in my head, I thought to myself: "Oh, Your are a clever one!" And no I wasn't referring to myself, I was referring to the great twister (not the dance...and not the highly suggestive "party" game either). I'm talking about the one that is constantly taking the Word of God and twisting it to distract us from the Truth.
Wait, what......what do vampires and the Bible have to do with each other? Well I myself found it interesting how the two most glorified aspects of the vampire are the fact that they have eternal life, but only if they have a daily, hourly (whateverly) intake of blood. And as followers of Christ Jesus we believe that it is through the blood shed on the cross of calvary that we obtain eternal life with the Father. Now I'm not saying that vampires are an evil ploy to undermine the cross, but I am writing it. You see from the beginning of time immortality has always been something man kind has sought after. And I believe it is do to the fact that when God created Adam and Eve He intended for them to live forever. He gave them the tree of Life and allowed them free access to it. But once sin entered the world through our ancient parents, God demonstrated his love and kicked them out of the garden and away from said tree. If he hadn't they would have lived in there sin forever. Ever since our parents where exiled man has been earning for and trying to obtain that immortality that was once freely and easily obtainable. But with the introduction of Sin into the world that immortality was a only a fading memory along with the relationship man (by a man I also include woman) had the Creator. Now no longer was it as easy as picking a fruit from a tree and walking with the Creator and talking with him. Now blood had to be shed. Now the only way to life was through the death and offering of a sacrifice.
Fast forward into the future and now Jesus is on the scene. Man is still trying to obtain immortality man is still trying to regain life. Jesus shows up and becomes the ultimate sacrifice, sheds the ultimate blood. And through His sacrifice we can once again gain that eternal life we once had in the garden, through His sacrifice we can once again have the relationship with the Creator we had in the garden. Now it is once again as easy as picking a fruit from a tree and walking and talking with our Father.
But like I said, the great Twister is quit the clever one. You see Satan can not create anything new, so all he can do is take what God has done and twist it to deceive and distract us from what Christ did on the cross. So now instead of putting our focus on Christ, the masses are infatuated with these mythological creature that for some reason or another have acquired the ability to live forever. Now here is the truth in all of it, they need BLOOD to do so. Just as the blood Jesus shed on the cross grants to all who believe redemption and eternal life, regular consumption of blood sustains vampires forever. The truth is Blood, the lie is that you don't need Jesus.
In reality without Jesus there is no redemptive blood shed. Without the redemptive blood shed there is no forgiveness of sins and without the forgiveness of sins there is no eternal life with the Father. Jesus is the bedrock on which we place our faith. And anything the enemy can do to distract us from the fact that without Jesus we have no hope, we have no fulfillment, we have no life he will do. Anything the enemy can do to keep us from realizing we need to be redeemed and look to Christ and say "I want your BLOOD, your cleansing, justifying, redeeming blood. I want you Jesus!" He will do. After all, he is the great twister (again no not the dance and no not the highly suggestive "party" game either).
Two verses to read if you like to read and stuff:
Romans 5:8-10
1 Peter 1:18-20
