Anyone looking for entertainment can find it everywhere: television, streaming, social media. And, thankfully, books! With so much fun, we all must be discerning when choosing what to consume, and how to spend the portion of our time allotted to leisure.
To that end, recently I’ve chosen to spend some of my free time reading classic books I missed for one reason or another. Through this process, I’ve discovered numerous delightful books and authors. However, I can see why several weren’t placed on assigned reading lists in school. Some are depressing. Others are inexplicable. A few seem pointless. Many are misguided. These discoveries have been disappointing, but a reminder that not every book lives up to its reputation.
As for myself and my authors, we seek to honor the Lord with our work. Novelists write stories. Great stories. While readers may not see a Bible verse on every page, the plots reflect Christianity in viewpoint, problem-solving, resolutions, characters, and character.
By offering readers books that are reliably Christian, we help readers make their leisure time entertaining, encouraging, edifying, and enlightening. (I’m tempted to make a list of these “e” words now!)
Just because we’re writing from a Christian viewpoint doesn’t mean all our fiction can be classified as a “beach” read. Yes, we have lots of beach reads, and they’re super fun! Light and amusing books are harder to write than a reader may realize. But Christian fiction can also be deep and, thus, draw readers closer to the Lord. Certainly, we want none of our books to discourage readers in their walk, or cause stumbling. We aim to walk with our readers on the path with Him.
As followers of Christ, we hope to magnify Him with everything we do. When we choose to read books from authors who love the Lord, we honor the Lord with our leisure time.
