Our soul aches for a BELOVED. Where does this longing come from and how do we fill it? We see this longing in all the movies and books we are drawn to. As girls, we want to be known and cherished. We are Bella and are searching for our Edward or Edward looking for Bella. We either run away from the reality or we find it in all the wrong places. Instead of fighting this deep longing of melding with another, embrace it. The fact remains that God created us to be most intimate with Him first. When God is our Edward, all else falls into place.
Here are Bella's reasons for loving Edward.
***Edward answers Bella's basic question- Do you see me and find me desirable? Bella answers Edwards's basic question- Am I your hero?
When God is our Edward, our basic question is answered for eternity.
God is a perfect dichotomy of masculinity and femininity. To approach God, our stanch should be: You are my hero and I see You. I want to be in Your presence and I love You. We do this not because God needs this from us, but because this is the way to love one another. He is teaching us how to love. To love, purely for love's sake is the greatest gift we can give.
God gives this love back to us. He sees and cherishes us. We are His heroes as we show the world His love through our compassion for others.
***Edward is drawn to her essence, first to kill her and then to love her. He knows that she is different from other humans and her scent draws him to her. He loves her regardless of whether she loves him back or does anything for him.
When God is our Edward, He understands our uniqueness.
We want to be loved on a soul level. We call this connection soul mating, but this word doesn't come close to describing our tie to God. Only God can do this well and forever. God created perfect love. In perfect love, both partners are loved for who they are not by actions or words. It is such freedom when we can be loved without doing anything. We can bask in His love; let it flow all over us without being good, useful or helpful. God wants us to love Him in the same way. He says to Know Him. In the book of Job, He says it is better for us to know Him than to have our questions answered. God wants us to love Him beyond what He can do for us or how He loves us. He wants us to desire Him beyond our circumstances. He wants us to know Him and love Him. Not because He needs this from us, but because this is the way to perfect love. The beauty of this love fills us so full that we can't help, but overflow and pass it on to others.
***Bella loves that Edward is "dangerous" yet she is not afraid because she trusts him not to hurt her. If Edward is "human/vampire" that would be foolish since love changes. He may not always love her and could indeed hurt her deeply.
When God is our Edward, we do not have to fear the future.
God is mysterious, awe inviting, an unknown. We are attracted to this raw power. God can strike us dead. He has the strength, immense strength to eradicate the world. Along with this incredible power, He can care for us in such gentle ways. This is the juxtaposition ~ the wild strength against the gentle knowing of every hair on our head; the loving us despite ourselves; the incredible compassion that touches our very soul. It is this contrast that speaks to us. We are so loved that He would lay aside His destruction and strength to care for us in our human form. God is incomprehensible. AND He loves us completely.
***Bella wants to be seen. Since Edward can't read her mind so he asks questions. Never judging, always listening. She feels "known" and cherished and she can trust. And she asks him questions so she will "know" him.
When God is our Edward, we are known and loved.
God "knows" us and this can be frightening. This "knowing" is too deep and scary for us since we realize that we aren't always good. Our hearts are messy. We want the "knowing" to be decided by us. How much can we disclose and our beloved still loves us? The GREAT news is that God sees it ALL and still loves us. God's perfect love is not tied to actions, but to whom we were created to be in Him. He sees what He has created and says that it is good. He created our inner self to bond with him and this bond cannot be broken. It can be ignored, mistreated, and left, but it is still there. In the book of Job, Job says that there is no place we can go that God is not present. This truth is scary and wonderful at the same time. We can't run away from Him and His "knowing" us. Because God is involved with us more deeply than any human and continues to love us and want our best, we can trust Him with our life. This trust is so encompassing since the foundation was laid before the beginning of time. Trust allows our life to flow along God's path for us. Could there be anything better than knowing that God's plan is for our best?
Rarely do we come before God and ask Him questions about Himself. Not the why questions, but the who are you questions. Show me yourself questions. Not how it relates to us, but truly to see glimpses of His essence. Asking shows that it is our main desire to see our beau. How can He be our beloved if we haven't taken the time to be close to Him? This knowing communicates the depth of intimacy that leads to our soul.
***Bella wants to surrender her life to Edward. She is willing to give up everything for him.
When God is our Edward, we can surrender perfectly.
Deep in our soul, we want to surrender. Surrender our will to our beloved. We were created for this, but we fear it. We want our own way at the same time we want to surrender. When we surrender to a human, we risk pain. We will be disappointed. We want to be so in love that we would sacrifice/do anything for our beloved. When we realize that we will only experience pain in the long run as we give up so much of ourselves for another, we try to fight this desire. We try to rise above it. This doesn't work because we were created with this desire- to surrender our will and desires for another. Since it is almost impossible to surrender completely when we want our way so much of the time, we stay away from surrendering to God. "He wants too much of us. It terrifies us." Instead we go for a human who is easier to manipulate to get our way. This begins the break up of our relationships and us. God knows we can't truly have it both ways and He wants all of us for our own good. The beautiful part is that as we surrender more and more of ourselves, we have the ability to be fully with others in relationships. That is the irony of our running away. What we fear will really lead us to the place we want to go.
***Bella tells Jacob "I love you, but don't make me choose between you and He. He will win. It has always been Edward." Edward realizes that she loves him first and foremost. He is willing to "share" Bella.
When God is our Edward, we choose Him 1st and always.
God is a jealous God. He wants to be our first choice. When we love God with our whole heart, the people who love us won't make us choose. They know where our priorities are and they respect us. If someone draws a line and forces us to choose, then they are not good for us. We have to constantly say, "It has always been Him. He will always win". In putting Him first, we are passionate about our desire to be with Him, spend time with Him and share our life with Him. We want to embody His character. We want to be a chip off the old block.
The beauty of this truth is that when we love God best, God is willing to share us with the world. He encourages us to form deep relationships with others to enhance our life and promote His kingdom.
***Bella knows that Edward is always watching out for her. He never sleeps and loves to watch her while she sleeps. She feels safe under his watch.
When God is our Edward, we are watched over and protected during our sleep.
Whether we sleep alone or with another, it is comforting to know that our beloved is keeping watch over us as we close our eyes. Sleeping makes us vulnerable. We are unconscious and unable to defend ourselves. Knowing that God is taking 1st watch, we can sleep in peace. We can feel safe, loved and protected. God wants us to sleep well and wake up refreshed. He desires us to be the best we can be and adequate sleep is necessary.
***Edward holds back on sexual intimacy until the timing is right. He realizes that he is so powerful that the act could destroy Bella.
When God is our Edward, our virtue is protected.
God gives us this incredibly powerful connection, which can bring life or slowly destroy life. It is a choice we need to choose wisely and God asks us to choose His way.
Edward's brutal strength puts Bella at risk. Her bruises would be on the outside, maybe even some broken bones. The bruises for a normal human who uses this intimacy outside of marriage are not visible for they include a broken heart. The brokenness is experienced on the inside and can stay with us forever. Unfortunately, our society has convinced us that the potential for wounding is no longer there. Sex should be experienced when we feel like it. This is false and harmful to all of us. Respect, love, compassion, being seen and known should all come first. A commitment should be expressed in front of God and others. Sex is the gift God gives us on our wedding night to share with each other. This intimacy on our wedding night completes our lifetime commitment and cannot be broken.
God asks us to wait for multiple reasons. Delayed gratification is essential to knowing our heart and the heart of our loved one. It shows self-control. It shows that the relationship is worth the wait. Waiting increases our self-esteem, self- worth, self-determination and self-love. It says to all, "I am valuable and only want to share this deep intimate part of myself in the right order, the right timing, and with the right person." God will honor this.
God does find us where ever we are- broken from multiple relationships or before we even start to date. He calls us to a life of celibacy before marriage. He forgives us of our sins and asks us to follow Him. We need to let go of any shame and allow Jesus to wash us clean. Only then can we follow Him to a life worth living.
***Edward leaves Bella as a way to keep her safe. After he returns, she realizes that though she may love others, Edward is whom she can't live without.
When God is our Edward, we learn that we can't live without Him.
Sometimes God gives us a dark night of the soul, when He takes His presence away from us for a little while. Like a parent who watches her kindergartner interact at school. Did my child get the lessons I taught him? What lessons do I need to repeat? God asks the same questions as He watches us live without His presence. Are we still living His plan or have we deviated from His path? Are we growing spiritually or have we shut down?
This process can be extremely painful, but can be absolutely necessary as we grow in our spiritual walk. As with Bella who physically ached for many months at the absence of Edward, we too can feel God's absence and profoundly morn the loss. It can feel like a black hole that will never be filled again. When God shows Himself to us again, we realize that we don't ever want to be without Him. We will do whatever it takes to have our beloved nearby. Our soul is connected to His and we can't survive without Him. In this way, we decide to always choose Him if we must make a choice.
We don't understand these truths while we are going through His absence. Trust is essential to getting through it. When King David felt God's absence, he reminded himself of all the times God was faithful. He then trusted God to know what He was doing. He learned that God is always with us even when we can't feel Him. God makes Himself quiet for His purposes. During those times, we need to give God the benefit of the doubt for we know it is for our best. All we have to do is to review all the times God did show up in our life. We can then give Him thanks and praise and wait for Him to make Himself present again.
***Edward sacrifices his desires when he refuses to make Bella like him. It would be easier for him if she is like him, but he doesn't want to act selfishly. In the end, he does change her, but after much soul searching and life threatening situation.
Bella sacrifices her life and all she has ever known to be with Edward. Edward is thrilled when Bella embraces her new life and thrives.
When God is our Edward, Jesus' sacrifice allows us access to our Father.
Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice when He died on the cross for us. Our sins were prohibiting us from a relationship with God. God so loved the world that He gave His only son so that we might have life with Him. God showed us what true sacrifice looks like. Jesus died with no strings attached. He wanted us to know He loves us that much. We can choose Him or not, but He will never force us to follow Him. He gives us the freedom to choose. He wants us to come willingly, not out of duty or because we have to.
When we accept Jesus' sacrifice, we want to sacrifice ourselves for others. We want to pass on the peace that God brings us when we are in communion with Him. No greater love than to lay down our life for our brother. The sacrifice Jesus model is a gift we can never repay, but the wonderful part of this story is that repayment is not necessary. He wants us to pay it forward. Pass it on. Shout His glory from the mountaintops. God is thrilled when we are happy in our new life. He has huge plans for us and he wants us to be passionate about life with Him. We are so thankful that we can't help ourselves in wanting to share this with the world. God is good and His love endures forever.
***Bella becomes a new creature after she becomes like Edward for eternity. After her transformation she says, "To the very core of my body, I hadn't imagined that I could love him more than I had."
When God is our Edward, we are made a new creature through the Holy Spirit.
When we decide to make a radical change to become like God, we are infused with His Holy Spirit. This transformation alters us for all time. We are given His strength, His courage, His skill and knowledge and His perfect love. We are promised an eternity with our beloved. We are a different creature. We take on His ways, which have not been our ways. Our minds are now capable of holding so much more love and our hearts are strong enough to bear it. We are now able to be who God calls us to be. And we are promised an eternity with our beloved. What more could we ask for?
***Bella feels average as a human, but she becomes brilliant as she becomes a new creature. Her small character traits become incredible gifts.
When God is our Edward, our ordinary life is turned to extraordinary.
We all feel average so much of the time and yet we yearn to be above average. Our undefined character strengths lie dormant and we don't know how to bring them forth. During metamorphose; the infusion of the Holy Spirit changes our gifts. When we become new creatures, those strengths burst through and shine in amazing ways. We go from ordinary to extraordinary.
Bella wants so desperately to play a part in the big picture, but her humanness leaves her vulnerable. After her change happens, she excels in her new life and becomes a vital part of her story. Likewise, we desire to be a leading lady, but our weaknesses leave us crippled and worn out. We shout for an infusion of something. God answers our shout with a question. Do you really want this new life? You can go back to the way you were. If you follow me though, I have an amazing journey for you. You must understand that this change is for life. This is the point of no return. If the answer is Yes to all His questions, God promises a life to remember. Tough times will happen, but God will never desert us. He is our sure bet, our walk into the sunset and our happily ever after.
Will you answer His call?
