How is the Word of God relevant to those of us who write fiction? In my case, Dark Snow opened with the murder of five people. What does God say about murder? OK, that’s too easy—thou shalt not. Yet, Jesus opened that up with, anyone who is angry with his brother must stand his trial. Phillips
Writers, I believe, must present the Truth. You do not have to be a Christian writer to consider the universal truths in your stories. But if you want to be a Christian writer, you must include God’s Truth.
I have read eight or nine books by Dean Koontz, and that Truth shows up. The greats—those dead white guys—often included the Truth without saying anything about church or religion. I think it works best that way.
What is the Truth in John 12?
Bottom line: we cannot save ourselves. We do hold anger against our brothers. We hurt people, steal from them, lie to them. We can’t help ourselves. We can’t even see our sins for what they are. We may talk about not buying clothing made my slave labor, but we think nothing of buying clothing made by workers receiving less than five dollars a day. That is wage slavery.
God alone can solve our problem. Only God knows our sins. Only He can make them right.
That is a problem for a writer. How do I show God dealing with the sin of anger? First, accept that I will be wrong at least sometimes. The more I study and consider my past attempts, the more likely I am to see the mistakes. Next time I’ll do better.
Because conflict is the essence of stories, be they romance or murder, we must strive to get it right. Our hero must fail along the way, both because we all do, and because the story needs ups and downs to be Truth.
While it is tempting to have our hero win by dying, in imitation of Jesus, we must understand that only the Son of God can save all humans. Jesus said, As for me, when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself. CJB If my hero jumps on a grenade to save the lives of those around him, he is only a hero, not the salvation of mankind.
Still, imitation is a good thing.
Also included in today’s scripture readings:
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Psalm 51:1-13
Read my earlier comments on this theme here.
Be righteous and do good.
Mike Lawrence
Mike Lawrence Books 