I have had some interesting conversations over the last few weeks with several different authors about the fact that God often doesn’t do things the way we expect. In fact, there are times when God’s ways—and the ways of those He used–seem…
Strange.
Unfair.
Even–dare I say it?–wrong.
Think about it.
The person who came to work in the field just before the day ended got paid the same as the folks who’d worked all day.
God hardened Pharaoh’s heart so he wouldn’t let the Israelites go.
God promised Abram and Isaac that their descendants would be more than the sands on the beach…and gave them wives who were barren.
God gave a prophecy to Rebekah about Jacob, which she “helped along” by some of the most blatant favoritism found in Scripture.
A guy tries to keep the Ark of the Covenant from falling on the ground, and God strikes the poor slob dead.
And on it goes. Things happening, and people doing things, that seem, to say the least, outside the boundaries of godly behavior.
Now, I’m not looking to get into a theological discussion with anyone, so please don’t post all the reasons I’m being a heretic. This isn’t about theology. It’s about writing. More than that, it’s about authentic writing.
A number of the authors I’ve been talking with have come to me because they’re struggling.
“I don’t want to write something that makes God look bad.”
“If I don’t add something here to make this make sense, what will people think of God?”
“This makes so little sense to the contemporary reader, won’t they just see God as unfair?”
These questions, and others like them, seem to come tucked inside the package when God gives you the task to write about Him. Whether you’re crafting fiction or nonfiction, odds are very good that you’re going to hit a spot where your fingers pause over the keyboard, and you struggle.
Because God’s ways are NOT our ways.
Not by a long-shot.
We want life to be fair, and God to appear righteous, even to those readers who don’t share our faith. I mean, He’s GOD, right? So of course we need to make sure we write words that make what God and/or His selected people do look right.
Pure.
Godly.
But here’s the thing. When we pretty up God and the people He’s used, we skate on some very thin ice. Basically we’re trying to put God in a nice, reasonable box. One that’s all wrapped up in sparkly paper, no wrinkles anywhere, with a big, beautiful bow on top. But friends, we can’t do that. None of us can sand off the seemingly rough edges or whitewash the hard realities of who God is.
Not without taking away from the fact that He is God.
I love what C.S. Lewis writes in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, God is Good, but he’s not Tame.
He’s not a God who fits in a nice, neat little box. Let alone one with a bow on top.
God’s not…pretty. He’s GOD. Almighty. Omniscent. Ever Present. The Beginning and the End. And there are things we will never understand about why He does what He does, or why He uses whom He uses. (David? Really, God? A guy who has an affair with a married woman, then murders her husband?)
But as hard as the reality is, the last thing your readers need is a cleaned-up, spit-and-polished, sanitized God. Nor do they need you to explain away His wildness. Instead, I challenge you to write about the reality of following a God who is so far beyond our ability to comprehend that at times we can only shake our heads and say, “I don’t get it. I don’t even like it a lot. But you know, God is GOD. And I trust Him.”
Are you writing about biblical characters who behaved badly? Then be honest about that. Let them be who they really were, not the versions that have gone through some spiritual makeover. Recognize that not every biblical tale, nor every encounter with God, is inspirational.
Some, my friends, are cautionary.
But whatever you are crafting, I guarantee if you’re honest and authentic with your readers, God will use your words to change lives. Because He uses everyday people who will speak truth–even scary, less-than-pretty truth.
Does God need a makeover? Hardly. He just needs us–no, He commands us—to speak (and write) truth in His name. And to taste and see.
That He’s good.
That He’s love.
That He’s the real thing, not some sugary substitute.
Write truth, friends.
And let God be God.
Wow, and thanks! I have struggled with those same questions!
Karen,
For the first time I’ve seen someone actually agree with me that we Should let God speak for Himself, and we shouldn’t try to sugarcoat Scripture, but trust that God will do His work!
Thank you Karen for this post!
I’m presently writing a book and the story’s about a character with an unpretty experience, despite being a Christian. I decided to trust that her story will tell the truth of God’s love and faithfulness. I’m so glad you wrote this! It’s a booster.
This post is a keeper. I love how God is never predictable. He don’t want us to figure Him out or that would make Him too small and us too big. He just wants us to trust Him. Sometimes that means doing a lot of crazy interventions to get our attention. But if it results in a deeper, more meaningful walk with God, so be it, right?
Karen, it would appear that the answer to your post question of “Does God Need a Makeover?” is “No.” We are the ones who need the makeover. Imagine that! :>) I apppreciate hearing all the thoughts posted.
Karen – I’m reading your Breaking Point book right now. A great reminder of what happens when we try to fit God into a box….
Thank you for this post – and for your very personal book. I’m very blessed by both today.
Becky
I’d like to echo Heidi’s “AMEN!”
The power and enormity of God is way beyond my comprehension. He is big enough to create all things yet still able to care about our smallest needs. AWESOME!
Thanks for all the thoughtful responses. You folks make my heart smile.
Pam Black, I hear your frustration. But I don’t agree that CBA readers want stories with the sanitized, spit-polished God. Not at all. That was the point of what I wrote. That our readers are looking for honesty and authenticity in our books, for the real struggles (and joys) of what it means to follow a God who is not tame or predictable. But who is, without a shadow of a doubt, good and trustworthy.
So how do we “write the truth that reaches the world and changes it for Christ without watering down our sinfulness,or shrinking Gods awesome power and Mercy when He finds us in it”? We do it with honesty. We show all the facets of life, but we do so with writing that is evocative, not explicit. Because we all know about evil and darkness and man’s inhumanity. We all know about those sold out to the enemy of our souls. We’ve all, at some point, experienced violence in actions or speech. And we’ve seen the brutalization visited upon so many, sometimes even in God’s name. We know it’s out there. And what we do no want or need in the books we read is more of the same. Blow-by-blows of the abuse and degradation. Vile language–be it obscenities or explicit sex or violence–only further degrades us.
But HONEST language–language that tells the truth about all these things you’ve mentioned, doing so in a way that evokes the realities without dragging us through the muck–that kind of writing not only enlightens and informs, it changes us.
Read Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Powerful, evocative truth about many of the awful things you mentioned. Equally powerful, evocative truth about God’s presence with us in those things, and His powerful love that redeems us in the face of such evil.
Authentic books don’t leave you feeling shamed or violated. Rather, they leave you with the powerful awareness of both our own failings AND God’s amazing grace and mercy. They leave us…thankful.
And changed.
Karen
You’re right, on all counts. I’d love to say something more profound, but my words are hiding from me right now.
By the time I hit the end of your post, I was blinking away tears. I’ve shared this entry to my facebook friends, as well. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve looked at God and said “Really? You’re kidding, right?” And he’s always serious about whatever the new challenge is, and he always comes through, and gives me what I need to meet the new challenge.
He is most definitely not a tame lion, but I’ll curl up next to this lion for safety any chance I get.
Thank you for this post, Karen.
No, God does not need a makeover. Our understanding of the power of His absolute love and the power of what Christ accomplished on the cross is what needs a makeover. Jeremiah 9:23-24 tells us that, if we’re going to boast, let us boast that we understand and know God. For us to think that God has anything to do with the evil that is raging in our world is for us to misread and misunderstand the main themes of the Bible. James 1 specifically tells us that God has nothing to do with evil–the greatest error we make is to believe that God causes or allows evil to happen. Christ died on the cross not so that we can go to heaven when we die, but so that we can cleave to God and receive the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom we need in order to overcome and completely defeat the kingdom of evil. We are selling God, Christ, and ourselves so short in what God and Christ accomplished on the cross and in what we are empowered to accomplish as we become and take our places as the sons of God.