Wednesday, August 20, 2014

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?

5 comments:

  1. Do you have any ideas how I could weave Jesus into a fantasy book that is not even set in this world....? I just can't think how I could do that, I would love to but I don't know how.

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    1. That is a good question! It depends on the kind of fantasy, I suppose. I have a friend who write medieval fantasy, so she uses the old Jewish and Greek names for God the Father and Jesus. I suppose if nothing else, you could give a salvation testimony or something at the beginning or end. :)

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  2. "I've resolved to have no more good morals without recognizing the One who gave them to us in the first place."
    Thank you for this post. This statement above has challenged me. I have a series I am working on about a galaxy that does not know God…yet…and there are specific people who are searching for something greater than just power, the person who has written the moral codes on their heart. They attempt to live by those moral codes, but without the Spirit, the law of sin weighs them down. What would you suggest in this case, where no one knows God but they are searching?

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    1. I really don't know! I am not a fantasy writer, so I have no experience with this. Perhaps, you could write an introduction stating that you wish to give God the glory and credit for good morals? Perhaps your answer to this problem does not lie in the actual story, but in a statement or testimony from you as the author at the beginning. :)

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    2. Thank you for your reply. I see the difficulties in answering a question such as mine, and I appreciate your taking the time to answer. That would be a possibility. So thank you again.

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