Faith: Why it’s the Thrust to My Writing

Alicia A. Willis

    Faith.

    You see the word everywhere. A Christmas card. A wall décor at Hobby Lobby, proudly proclaiming the love, faith, and hope. Faith is practically tantamount to believe – just another word that symbolizes sappy cheer and warmth.

    Unless you specify what faith you are talking about. What your faith is. And who it is in.

    You see, faith is nothing…unless it is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

    When you have faith in Him and His sacrifice for us on the cross, it makes everything different. Life is different. It’s about loving and serving Him, about telling others the good news of His grace. When you get a hold of how good God is and how wonderful His love is, it really gets you excited. It gives you purpose. It gives you meaning to life.

    That is what I want my writing to portray: Real, hard, honest-to-goodness, day-to-day faith.

    I think it would be impossible for me to go a single day without talking to God. The words to the hymn I Need Thee Every Hour are very true for me. I need to constantly talk to the Lord and to hear Him speak to me. He is my best friend…and He should be every Christian’s best friend.

    So why do so many Christian novels make faith in the Lord Jesus an add-on, a quick supplement to the story? Is it for the sake of making the novel fit under the category of “Christian”? Is it because that is how many Christians really live their lives, as part-time Jesus-followers? I really don’t know.

    All I know is that I can’t be a part-time Christian when my Jesus isn’t a part-time Savior. I can’t push Him aside in my writing (though the masses cry for less and less Jesus in Christian books.) I want Him to be there, to be the heart of my books. He’s my life. And He has to be the life of my writing.

    Granted, that hasn’t always been true. God is teaching and bringing me along as I go. I’m still learning, still finding that balance of creating an exciting Christian story without being preachy. But, you want to know to know what changed me in the first place? It was coming to the understanding that Satan isn’t against good morals. He is against Jesus Christ. That is what changed my heart.

    I’ve resolved to have no more good morals without recognizing the One who gave them to us in the first place. No more faith without specifying Who it is in. Why? Because there is power in the name of Jesus. We need that power in our books, especially ones that are categorized as Christian.

    So, for those who ask me why it is that faith is such a thrust to my titles, it’s because we all need that faith. We need that power. God gave me the stories I have written and He gave me the ability to write in the first place. The least I can do is make sure I don’t betray that by leaving Him out of my work.

    Join me?