Light years apart

Darkness...

‘When people come back to their houses, they have no idea what could be around the corner. There could be explosives rigged up to their kitchens, under their beds, or in the light switches in the walls... Even children’s books are rigged with hidden explosives.’ 

So says a recent bulletin from Médecins sans Frontières. It’s the situation of people returning to Raqqa in Syria. Reading such things I find it hard to see how people can deny that Satan is alive and active in our world. There’s just not enough evil in an ordinary person to account for the sadism of it. 

Moving from fact to fiction, I’ve been reading a riveting Young Adult novel, The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. It takes you vividly into the world of African Americans in the United States. It shows you the strong sinews of Black family life and the appalling treatment they continue to get from white people, especially the police. I say ‘you’, but I guess many of my readers will never have the heartwarming experience of reading it. The f-word and the s-word occur often, and I know this is a red line for some Christian readers. Unfortunately, it’s how people in that society talk, good people as well as bad. There are some selfless and indeed some prayerful characters in this story, who I’m sorry you may not meet; and they are given the most brilliantly crafted dialogue I have read for a long time. And at the top of the author’s acknowledgements page I noted: ‘I first have to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I’m not worthy of all that you have done for me.’

Light...

I’ve also been looking at the blurbs for new release Christian books... Here are some snippets:  

‘A beautiful devotional that explores the names of God...’ ‘...ways of praying and nurturing the human spirit...’  ‘...prayerful reflections designed to draw the reader into an encounter with God...’ ‘...we allow ourselves to be vulnerable by sharing our struggles...’ ‘...how to experience the joy of a faith-filled life’ ‘...ten blessings God offers even in the midst of difficult times’ ‘This book will reveal how precious you are to God...’ 

The world of these books is so different! It’s like a bubble, filled with a warm light, but a million miles from the struggles of this earth. I know we need to be grounded in God, etc., etc., if we are to cope with the grim world out there, but so many of these books seem to speak as if there is no such world. They speak of my struggles, my difficult times; but who am I? Most likely a middle-class, first-world, relatively affluent person who has never confronted a gun-toting policeman full of prejudice, let alone a ruined home booby-trapped by fanatics. 

Just before writing this blog the words ‘You are the light of the world... You are the salt of the earth’ came unbidden into my mind. They seem highly appropriate for Christian writers. We should let our depiction so shine in the darkness that good and bad are shown up for what they are. And we should sprinkle salty words on the slugs and snails of wickedness that consume the good green things of the earth. 

Light versus Darkness

It’s an interesting time to be alive. Never in my life have public affairs stood out so starkly, darkness and light. And never have the dark team made such efforts to say that light is darkness and darkness is light. I’m not talking about policies, primarily, but about people—the powerful rulers and media controllers.  

Recently a delegation of evangelical Christians (our brothers and sisters) went to the President of the United States and heaped praise upon him. This was, in my view, to render to Caesar what belongs to God. I fear that these Christians are courting apostasy. 

And never has the church faced such shipwreck. Our own instinct to cover up corruption and abuse and suppress difference and dissent has brought it upon us. But if we are prepared to be honest and change our minds we can escape ruin. These words used to puzzle me, but now they make sense: 

‘It is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?’ 

Some time after writing this, I read that Beth Moore, the American Bible teacher, is saying the same thing. 

So what should we Christian writers do? Let’s come out of our comforting bubble world. Let’s get out and tell the truth, first about the ordeals of the family of God and then about those who do not obey.