Into the Fire

Looking through the eyes of the world . . . is only valuable for a Christian when figuring out motives leading to conduct, thought processes leading to actions, and reasoning leading to philosophies. When the objective for a Christian is to understand something—or anything really—concerning the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) for a person who does not know God, it is wise to try and see through their eyes. It helps find a point of contact, a measure of familiarity, an area of mutual interest which might lead to a conversation and perhaps to a friendship and ultimately or eventually to an opportunity to share the Truth with a capital T.

However, when looking through the eyes of the world becomes a common observation point for a Christian because of cultural or societal saturation, it can taint the perspective of a believer. The philosophies of this world do not have their origins in the principles of Christ which is undoubtedly why some Christians isolate themselves among believers and the fortresses of their churches. Unfortunately, if they’re truly observant as to the pitfalls of all of mankind, they will learn that their particular method of escapism only leads to a different kind of wrong behavior such as prejudicial views and judgmental separations. Even within the confines of sacred sanctuaries, sin exists and no one person is immune.

The ridiculous assumption that you must qualify “Christian” with the typing of “Evangelical” indicates a basic lack of understanding of the full meaning of “Christian”. When Jesus gave the final instructions to His followers, He didn’t stipulate that some would be empowered with His Spirit to evangelize the world—beginning at their home locations—but instead He made it clear that being His follower, later to be tagged “Christians”, would require it. Sometimes we like to make excuses for not sharing Him with unbelievers, using the current societal restrictions in certain workplaces, for example. However, the Holy Spirit is very efficient, even clever, about where and when He asks us to talk about Jesus, so it’s a moot point to argue against the basic directive of evangelism if you’re a true believer.

So . . . now that I’ve established the baseline, let me just say that if you claim to write fiction which has been labeled “Christian”, you really ought to include the mention of Jesus—and not just marginally. If you claim to write fiction with a Christian worldview, then you really should incorporate not only a good vs. evil plotline but also include the indication of a singular type of savior. If you are a Christian and simply write fiction, one would assume that your lifestyle as a Bible-believing, Blood-bought sinner, would more than likely influence the content of your novel.

Personally, I don’t care what or if you care to label yourself, but sometimes what you do say and what you don’t say about who you are as a writer says it all.

If you intend to reach the world either by giving them the gospel in story form or presenting them with a good vs. bad scenario to entice them to think about an alternative way of life, you write with a purpose. How you do either of these requires the same skills with different kinds of options for storytelling. Both can be done well . . . or not. Both can entertain and “educate” the same audiences but can also appeal to totally diverse and opposite types of audiences.

If you intend to offer the world of readers anything within the realm of Christianity, such as its standards or viewpoints or worldviews, in lieu of their current status as unbelievers, you are writing from the true baseline of evangelism.

Whether or not you want your literature segregated and in its own sections or kinds of stores or side by side with worldly volumes in the same genre as yours, seems like something God should determine. The objective of selling the novel becomes a publisher’s problem, but what really matters to a Christian’s perspective is how God will use the product He gave you the skills to write. When our perspective gets skewed, the process becomes all about the numbers which translates to money. Is it really about the money? How do we answer that with any honesty since it is required of us?

Do you struggle with a skewed perspective?

Father, I want to see the world as you see it. I want to love the lost but not compromise who I am in you to minister to them. You know what you have for me to do: in my conduct, in my words, and in my writing. You ordain my steps, and I want to follow only you, Lord. Help me in every part of my life to be obedient to your desires. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.