From vampires to Jesus.
I had a friend that really enjoyed reading Anne Rice’s vampire chronicles. It was her extreme interest in these books that I decided to pick one up and read them. You may all recognize her most from her book that was made into a movie, Interview with the Vampire. The movie was alright, but I found so much more richness in Rice’s words than the movie could express. Note that I’m not even interested in vampires, but found myself reading a few of her books because they were just that good. Now that vampire lovin’ author is a Jesus lovin’ one, devoting all her writings to the Lord and abandoning her vampire work (except for one that she says focuses on redemption rather than the vampires). She posted an article yesterday about her trust in the Lord and it’s worth reading.
Look: I believe in Him. It’s that simple and that complex. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the God Man who came to earth, born as a tiny baby and then lived over thirty years in our midst. I believe in what we celebrate this week: the scandal of the cross and the miracle of the Resurrection. My belief is total. And I know that I cannot convince anyone of it by reason, anymore than an atheist can convince me, by reason, that there is no God.
One of the things I love about Jesus and salvation is that there is no discrimination. It is available for everyone. I know people who loved Jesus as soon as they could read, others who found Him in college, and the best stories, to me, are the ones who found Him later in life. To me, that means they had extra years to live in sin and rebellion, but even with those years, God extends His grace and mercy. I love it when I hear of outspoken atheists coming to know Christ, only to devote their entire life to them - sometimes even more passionately than those who knew Him all their life. (The apostle Paul, anyone?)
So, on this Black Saturday, I sit at my computer in awe of what He has done for us and what He continues to do. He’s the one that makes our paths straight and crooked. I have to remember this. With Christ, there is such great hope. There is such great redemption.
