"Good vampires" like Edward Cullen, are a recent addition to a long tradition of folklore about "the living dead." Tales of vampire-like creatures have been around as long as human history. Literal belief in vampires was so strong in medieval Europe that fear amounting to mass hysteria took over the population for a period of time. Corpses were exhumed from their graves and stakes driven through their hearts in an effort to destroy the vampires that people believed existed.
While these creatures live on perpetually, their lifestyle is hardly one that most of us would envy. They must constantly feed their desire for blood in order to continue living, so their relationship with others is that of predator. They're constantly being hunted either by human beings or other creatures, so they are never at rest. They are usually portrayed as wandering, driven, basically unhappy creatures who are doomed to an eternal existence of hunt and be hunted that will never change.
While most people would agree that vampires are mythology and not reality, "the living dead" do actually exist. Outwardly they pass for normal, but inwardly they are driven, restless and often unhappy. Who are they? The Bible describes them accurately in 1st Timothy 5:6, "The person who lives only for themselves and their pleasure is dead even while they live." They seek wealth, power and the ability to do things their own way. But Proverbs 14:21 tells us: "There is a way that seems right to a person, but in the end it leads only to death." Their plans appear to give them what they want, but they end up feeling empty and futile again.
Are their desires wrong? You might be surprised to find out, not really. We were created by God to enjoy abundance and never be in want, to have dominion over everything on the earth and to control dangers and things that could harm us. So these desires are a natural God-given part of us. It is the way we try to fulfill these desires that is the problem.
God designed us to find the fulfillment of all our desires in an ongoing relationship with Him. He originally gave us the choice of partnering with Him or going our own way, and we chose to do it our way. But that choice is a living death because we can never find satisfaction in it. We are physically alive, but not really living.
This Sunday will be Easter, a time when we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important event in Christianity. Do you know why? John 5:24 explains it. "Jesus said, ‘I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death to life’." Eternal life is full, abundant life now, and after our physical death, life continuing forever.
Are you among the living dead? This Easter Jesus Christ is inviting you to find abundant life in Him. Choose to leave the living dead. Choose Christ and start really living!
Come join us this Easter Sunday at 9:00 AM or 11:00 AM when we will be discussing, "No Longer Dead," another in our series on "The Great Exchange."
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