Ever since I decided to follow God and have felt like He’s leading me to pursue a career in publishing, I have been drawn to fiction. But then, I couldn’t reconcile my love for fiction with my love for God and His ministry. The two seemed mutually exclusive except for a few extreme cases. After all, if you wanted to learn about God or how He speaks or who He is, most people pick up something non-fiction. I once had a conversation with a friend who summed it up pretty well: he said that if he wanted to read something that entertains, he would reach for a novel but he counts it as a waste of time. His time is better served reading something that edifies his spirit, teaches him, serves a purpose. I.e: non-fiction (specifically C.S. Lewis, whom we were talking about then.)
Now, I have nothing against non-fiction. I’ve been known to read Bill Johnson or Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda, Patricia King or James Goll. These authors are all incredibly anointed and should be read. And, he’s right, most fiction is meant strictly to entertain. My bookshelves are full of novels that are absolutely meant to entertain. But then, there are those exceptions. Those books that teach you how to hear God, or something new about Who He is, or something about what He’s doing right now. For example, some books that have spoken to me personally:
- This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness by Frank Peretti
- Blessed Child by Ted Dekker
- The Shack by William Young
But here’s the deal: each of these novels taught me something new. Frank Peretti opened my eyes to spiritual warfare. Ted Dekker taught me just how accessible the Kingdom is. And The Shack… well, The Shack might as well be non-fiction for all the information it is pregnant with. It’s not perfect, but when read with discernment I believe it can serve a very profound purpose.
Each of these novels helped me to understand something new about how to walk the Walk and talk the Talk. They also taught me something new about how God works and Who He is. The one thing I love most about them is that they’re not preachy.
Newsflash: No one wants to read something if they’re being preached at! Save that for Sunday morning.
Instead, in fiction, the message needs to be subtle. Story first; message second. If your story is well-written — if it is driven by characters that seem real and not forced — then it will stay with your reader. They’ll find themselves pondering the message even if they don’t realize it. The lesson that God has given you to convey through fiction will sneak in like a thief in the night; it’ll grab hold of the reader and never let them go.
Jesus was the master of this technique. All of his parables were character-driven and promoted deep, intelligent thought at the same time. They were easily memorized yet, for the discerning reader, they will never grow stale. There will always be a need for this kind of steal-in-the-dark fiction because it will reach an audience that would never in a million years pick up a non-fiction work. The only question is: are you willing to hand your pen over to the Master?
Food for thought.
nemil 