"Each of us is an innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus." -Neal A. Maxwell
This time of year, the story of Jesus Christ seems to get more attention than it does throughout the year. Families all over the world here the story of the birth of Jesus, beginning with the census all the way to the wise men and everything in between. Most everyone is familiar with the story of the innkeeper and how he told Mary and Joseph there was no room in the inn. So now we have turned this story outward, and each of us now decides if there is room for Jesus. But that isn't how it really works.
Each of us does not decide if there is room for Jesus. There IS room for Jesus. In fact, Blaise Pascal said, "There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart
of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by
God, the Creator, made known through Jesus." A vacancy in the heart is not optional or dependent upon anything. Each of us has a God-shaped hole inside of us. Our role then is not to decide if there is room for Jesus, but to boldly proclaim that there IS room for Jesus in every heart and in every place, and nothing else can fill it.
This Christmas, as you open your gifts and spend time with family and friends, keep in mind that the conflict that led to the coming of Jesus was not the lack of vacancy in the inn, but the vacancy in our hearts that we have attempted to fill with sin. Bear also in mind that Jesus didn't come to earth and fill just any vacancy. He filled the vacancy on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sins we commit attempting to fill the God-shaped hole with other things. This Christmas, celebrate that there is room for Jesus, and as a believer, celebrate that the hole in your heart is filled.
If the empty space in your heart is not filled, I implore you to look nowhere else. This season, we are reminded that a baby boy came down to earth, but we often neglect the purpose. He came for us, so someday we can stand before our Creator and no longer have a space in our heart. Because of the baby boy we celebrate this time of year, we will one day stand before the throne of the king of the universe pure and whole. That's the true reason we celebrate Christmas.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Thursday, November 27, 2014
Thanksgiving Challenge 2014
As you scroll through your Twitter timeline, it's highly likely that you can separate the tweets you see into categories as follows:
1) Countdown to Christmas
2) Black Friday advertisements
3) Complaints about school
4) Complaints about work
5) Complaints about the government
6) Complaints about the constant complaining
There are undoubtedly a few other categories depending on who you are, where you are from, and who you follow, but if you were to pull, say, the 20 most recent tweets from your timeline, a heavy majority of them would fall into one the aforementioned categories.
Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you are doing, I have a challenge for you this Thanksgiving. Let's start a trend so big people all over the world can add a new category to the list. On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and whatever else the kids are using these days, take a few seconds to post what you are thankful for this year. Spread the word. Tell your friends, family, and co-workers. Share this blog or summarize it. Do whatever you can to get out the message that we are content right here, right now with all that God has given us. We don't need to complain or count down to a better time because in this moment each one of us is blessed beyond belief.
Will you accept the challenge? Tweet, post, and share right now. Let's make God's provision a trend.
1) Countdown to Christmas
2) Black Friday advertisements
3) Complaints about school
4) Complaints about work
5) Complaints about the government
6) Complaints about the constant complaining
There are undoubtedly a few other categories depending on who you are, where you are from, and who you follow, but if you were to pull, say, the 20 most recent tweets from your timeline, a heavy majority of them would fall into one the aforementioned categories.
Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever you are doing, I have a challenge for you this Thanksgiving. Let's start a trend so big people all over the world can add a new category to the list. On Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and whatever else the kids are using these days, take a few seconds to post what you are thankful for this year. Spread the word. Tell your friends, family, and co-workers. Share this blog or summarize it. Do whatever you can to get out the message that we are content right here, right now with all that God has given us. We don't need to complain or count down to a better time because in this moment each one of us is blessed beyond belief.
Will you accept the challenge? Tweet, post, and share right now. Let's make God's provision a trend.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Where Sin Runs Deep
The internet is a scary place. Now, you have accessed this blog through the internet, and hopefully you don't view that as a bad thing... But let's use this blog as an example. These are my words, but I have put them on the internet. Now you and everyone else in the world can read them. I can delete them, but they won't really go away. You will have read them, and they will be permanently stored somewhere in cyberspace.
Words are a scary concept. Various arrangements of the same twenty-six letters build us up and tear us down so quickly and easily. Word vomit happens, and you can't take it back, and you may have just destroyed a life with those words. You can crush self esteem, end friendships, break hearts, and totally lay waste to lives.
The internet is just a big cloud of these words, sitting here saying things to us and about us. The words on the internet can criticize our race, our gender, our politics, our actions, our faith. That's what everything comes down to: our faith. We all believe in something, and none of us wants anything said to hit close to home. But one of the scary things about the internet is that it always does.
Right now, people everywhere are hurting because of today's tweets, posts, and headlines. Right now, people everywhere are confused, angry, sad, and even apathetic. Right now, that might be you. If that is you, dear reader, I pray that you will hear what I am about to say.
From the national television to the lunch table at school, Christianity takes a lot of heat these days. Someone makes a mistake and naturally, a lot of unanswerable questions arise. Is there a God? If so, why did he let this happen? How could a Christian do that?
We could have a walk-through on apologetics, but I will be honest with you and say you might not find the answer to your questions there. You might not find them anywhere. But I can guarantee that if you are looking for answers in a person here on Earth, you aren't going to find them. Because here on Earth, we are not free from the presence of sin. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned. That exempts a sum total of one: God himself. That, dear reader, is the gospel. That we couldn't be perfect. We couldn't attain righteousness. And Romans 6:23 says that the consequence of that is death- permanent death. Separation from God. But Ephesians 2:4-9 says that God sent Jesus and only through him are we saved. Only by faith are we made righteous.
That said, it is obvious that we still sin. We still mess up. There are two responses when that happens: we can run from God, or we can run to him. We can say that God must be angry or that he is too confusing or lofty or that we just flat out don't love him, and we can run. Hear me when I say to you that this will never satisfy. The farther we run, the emptier we will feel because we were made to love something greater than ourselves. Our only other option then, is to run to Jesus. Oh, I pray that you would today.
The simple fact of the matter is that there are some things we just cannot understand. I promise you that there is nothing more comforting than to throw your hands up and acknowledge it. It's okay to be honest with God, because he knows your heart right now. It's okay to tell him you are angry or confused or hurt, because he knows. He isn't surprised or angry. He loves you. He came down to Earth to die on the cross for you. He didn't come with the promise that things would be easy or fun; in fact he promised that they wouldn't be. And that's obvious in our lives today. But oh how he loves you in the midst of that. Romans 8:28 says that he is working all things together for your good, and you need to understand that he means that in the eternal sense because he is eternal and he loves you eternally.
Words can still hurt. Tweets, posts, and headlines can still shock and destroy. To say that it shouldn't affect you would be cliche and false. But when you are shocked, confused, hurt... When you don't know where else to go or what else to do, run to Jesus. You may not find answers, but you will find peace.
"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." --Psalm 9:10
Words are a scary concept. Various arrangements of the same twenty-six letters build us up and tear us down so quickly and easily. Word vomit happens, and you can't take it back, and you may have just destroyed a life with those words. You can crush self esteem, end friendships, break hearts, and totally lay waste to lives.
The internet is just a big cloud of these words, sitting here saying things to us and about us. The words on the internet can criticize our race, our gender, our politics, our actions, our faith. That's what everything comes down to: our faith. We all believe in something, and none of us wants anything said to hit close to home. But one of the scary things about the internet is that it always does.
Right now, people everywhere are hurting because of today's tweets, posts, and headlines. Right now, people everywhere are confused, angry, sad, and even apathetic. Right now, that might be you. If that is you, dear reader, I pray that you will hear what I am about to say.
From the national television to the lunch table at school, Christianity takes a lot of heat these days. Someone makes a mistake and naturally, a lot of unanswerable questions arise. Is there a God? If so, why did he let this happen? How could a Christian do that?
We could have a walk-through on apologetics, but I will be honest with you and say you might not find the answer to your questions there. You might not find them anywhere. But I can guarantee that if you are looking for answers in a person here on Earth, you aren't going to find them. Because here on Earth, we are not free from the presence of sin. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned. That exempts a sum total of one: God himself. That, dear reader, is the gospel. That we couldn't be perfect. We couldn't attain righteousness. And Romans 6:23 says that the consequence of that is death- permanent death. Separation from God. But Ephesians 2:4-9 says that God sent Jesus and only through him are we saved. Only by faith are we made righteous.
That said, it is obvious that we still sin. We still mess up. There are two responses when that happens: we can run from God, or we can run to him. We can say that God must be angry or that he is too confusing or lofty or that we just flat out don't love him, and we can run. Hear me when I say to you that this will never satisfy. The farther we run, the emptier we will feel because we were made to love something greater than ourselves. Our only other option then, is to run to Jesus. Oh, I pray that you would today.
The simple fact of the matter is that there are some things we just cannot understand. I promise you that there is nothing more comforting than to throw your hands up and acknowledge it. It's okay to be honest with God, because he knows your heart right now. It's okay to tell him you are angry or confused or hurt, because he knows. He isn't surprised or angry. He loves you. He came down to Earth to die on the cross for you. He didn't come with the promise that things would be easy or fun; in fact he promised that they wouldn't be. And that's obvious in our lives today. But oh how he loves you in the midst of that. Romans 8:28 says that he is working all things together for your good, and you need to understand that he means that in the eternal sense because he is eternal and he loves you eternally.
Words can still hurt. Tweets, posts, and headlines can still shock and destroy. To say that it shouldn't affect you would be cliche and false. But when you are shocked, confused, hurt... When you don't know where else to go or what else to do, run to Jesus. You may not find answers, but you will find peace.
"And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you." --Psalm 9:10
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Come Together
Imagine for a moment, if you will, your favorite song. It is probably your favorite for a reason. It probably speaks to you in some way. If you were asked to describe the significance of that song to someone, you could probably talk for a fairly long time about it. You could probably talk about it until the rest of the world tuned you out. That's probably how my friend feels when she talks about the Beatles, which is pretty much always.
If I were to introduce this friend to you, I wouldn't even tell you her name before I told you she is passionate about music. That's really all you need to know about her, because it's all she ever wants to talk about. You would probably think that gets old really fast, but with her, it doesn't. Everything she says is either a Beatles reference or a potential song idea for her own future career. Though I can't complain about the Beatles, I'm hardly a fan, and though I love music passionately, I certainly have no future career in it. Yet, I never tire of hearing about it from her. Why? Because it is her passion. She eats, sleeps, breathes it, and finds it in everything she does. But why is that special?
The unique thing about my friend is that she isn't satisfied simply to love music. One day, she could go deaf; the music she listens to would be silenced. One day, she could grow too weak to play guitar or sing; the music she creates would be gone. So she doesn't obsess over what she hears or creates. Rather, she relishes it and is in turn thankful, because the music came from somewhere- moreover, from someone. She uses her music to give back to and pursue the heart of it and reason for it: God.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 talks of spiritual gifts, and it says that there is a vast variety of gifts, but that they are all from the same spirit. I can carry a tune, but I can't draw people in with my music the way my aforementioned friend can. Some people can create beauty in the form of art; others words. Some have been gifted with minds for science and math; others sports. Some are given wisdom, some knowledge, some faith.. But all these gifts are from the same Spirit- the same God.
So I ask you, dear reader: What is your heart pursuing? When you reach that double bar line, when the end credits roll, when the last line of your last page is full, your pen is out of ink, and your mind is out of fuel, where do you turn? God has given us each such an incredibly unique gift, and each of them is worth celebrating. But in the end, the common center of all our gifts is the God who gives them. So, regardless of our gifts, let us use them for the common cause of pursing Him.
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit." --1 Corinthians 12:4
If I were to introduce this friend to you, I wouldn't even tell you her name before I told you she is passionate about music. That's really all you need to know about her, because it's all she ever wants to talk about. You would probably think that gets old really fast, but with her, it doesn't. Everything she says is either a Beatles reference or a potential song idea for her own future career. Though I can't complain about the Beatles, I'm hardly a fan, and though I love music passionately, I certainly have no future career in it. Yet, I never tire of hearing about it from her. Why? Because it is her passion. She eats, sleeps, breathes it, and finds it in everything she does. But why is that special?
The unique thing about my friend is that she isn't satisfied simply to love music. One day, she could go deaf; the music she listens to would be silenced. One day, she could grow too weak to play guitar or sing; the music she creates would be gone. So she doesn't obsess over what she hears or creates. Rather, she relishes it and is in turn thankful, because the music came from somewhere- moreover, from someone. She uses her music to give back to and pursue the heart of it and reason for it: God.
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 talks of spiritual gifts, and it says that there is a vast variety of gifts, but that they are all from the same spirit. I can carry a tune, but I can't draw people in with my music the way my aforementioned friend can. Some people can create beauty in the form of art; others words. Some have been gifted with minds for science and math; others sports. Some are given wisdom, some knowledge, some faith.. But all these gifts are from the same Spirit- the same God.
So I ask you, dear reader: What is your heart pursuing? When you reach that double bar line, when the end credits roll, when the last line of your last page is full, your pen is out of ink, and your mind is out of fuel, where do you turn? God has given us each such an incredibly unique gift, and each of them is worth celebrating. But in the end, the common center of all our gifts is the God who gives them. So, regardless of our gifts, let us use them for the common cause of pursing Him.
"Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit." --1 Corinthians 12:4
Saturday, October 11, 2014
What Makes You Beautiful
Beautiful is a very powerful word. It is used to refer to such a wide variety of things; there are beautiful songs, beautiful art, beautiful culture, beautiful clothing... Beautiful people. Naturally, such a strong word has an opposite. Music can be called unappealing. Art can be called unpleasing. Culture can be called grotesque. Clothing can be called unattractive. And people can be called ugly. Words can profoundly affect people, but none are more potent in today's society than these two antonyms: beautiful and ugly.
As a girl in a public high school, I have some personal experiences with these words. Beautiful. It builds people up. It lifts shoulders and corners of the mouth. It inspires people. Ugly. It tears people down. It crushes confidence and lessens laughter. It motivates people to be more or less of certain qualities they have. This doesn't seem so terrible, but consider this: What constitutes true beauty, and who decides?
Girls years younger than I am are dealing with self-esteem problems because they don't think they are beautiful in society's eyes. By the time they reach my age, some girls have given up. Boys and girls alike try to change their identities to fit in with this mold society has for them. If that's you, I say to you: Break the mold. Society's definition of beauty is so drastically twisted and wrong, and you will never be satisfied while you pursue it. There is a better beauty to pursue.
The beauty of the gospel is that society has one thing right: we aren't good enough. We aren't flawless. But the gospel refers to flaws in God's eyes. God is not looking at how well we can apply makeup or what clothes we wear; God sees the flaws on the inside: the insecurity and the idolatry of this concept of beauty that we pursue. The Bible says that we were created in the image of God, but the history of mankind up to the life of Christ is us pursuing God in all the wrong ways, and running completely the wrong direction. But then Jesus came. He lived a righteous life, and he died on the cross, trading the sin of those who are in him for his righteousness. So now God looks at us and doesn't see flaws. Instead he sees the righteousness of Christ, which is true beauty by definition because it is flawless.
God himself came down to earth for each of you. Still feel like you aren't worth it? If yes, you're still looking in the wrong place. Proverbs 31 says that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting. So rather than looking to be some molded plastic thing created by people's standards, look to Jesus. True beauty is found in Christ alone. So if you are in Christ, know this: You are covered with Jesus' righteousness, and therefore you are beautiful.
As a girl in a public high school, I have some personal experiences with these words. Beautiful. It builds people up. It lifts shoulders and corners of the mouth. It inspires people. Ugly. It tears people down. It crushes confidence and lessens laughter. It motivates people to be more or less of certain qualities they have. This doesn't seem so terrible, but consider this: What constitutes true beauty, and who decides?
Girls years younger than I am are dealing with self-esteem problems because they don't think they are beautiful in society's eyes. By the time they reach my age, some girls have given up. Boys and girls alike try to change their identities to fit in with this mold society has for them. If that's you, I say to you: Break the mold. Society's definition of beauty is so drastically twisted and wrong, and you will never be satisfied while you pursue it. There is a better beauty to pursue.
The beauty of the gospel is that society has one thing right: we aren't good enough. We aren't flawless. But the gospel refers to flaws in God's eyes. God is not looking at how well we can apply makeup or what clothes we wear; God sees the flaws on the inside: the insecurity and the idolatry of this concept of beauty that we pursue. The Bible says that we were created in the image of God, but the history of mankind up to the life of Christ is us pursuing God in all the wrong ways, and running completely the wrong direction. But then Jesus came. He lived a righteous life, and he died on the cross, trading the sin of those who are in him for his righteousness. So now God looks at us and doesn't see flaws. Instead he sees the righteousness of Christ, which is true beauty by definition because it is flawless.
God himself came down to earth for each of you. Still feel like you aren't worth it? If yes, you're still looking in the wrong place. Proverbs 31 says that charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting. So rather than looking to be some molded plastic thing created by people's standards, look to Jesus. True beauty is found in Christ alone. So if you are in Christ, know this: You are covered with Jesus' righteousness, and therefore you are beautiful.
Friday, August 8, 2014
In This World...
Where is the line?
As Christians in a broken world, many would say it is completely impossible to be in the world and not of it. And besides, what difference does it make that we try to avoid submerging in sin if we are knee deep in it anyway? Some book makes a mockery of my worldview, but it doesn't change it. Why shouldn't I read it? Some movie is completely inappropriate, but I know what is right and what is wrong, so why shouldn't I watch it? When it seems that no one else in the world cares about holiness, where else can you turn? And why does it matter?
When Jesus first called his disciples, he didn't immediately demand perfection. His first call was for proximity. "Come follow me," he said. It was that simple. Naturally, as we follow Jesus, we should become more like him. But even at the cross, Jesus's message was not that we should be perfect and therefore we might be accepted. The message of the cross is that we are accepted, and therefore we can be perfect. If acceptance required perfection of our own accord, there would be no need for the cross. Jesus willingly went to the cross because we cannot be perfect on our own, and he went knowing even before taking on all of our sin that we would sin anyway, and that the world will not be completely sin-free until he returns for the formation of the new heaven and new earth
In this world we are not free of sin. That has been established through scripture, through common sense, and through day-to-day struggles with sin. We are not free of sin, but in Christ we are free from it. That is a purpose of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it is the hope we have in him. From the moment Christ said, "It is finished," we have been free from both the power and the penalty of sin. The only thing we are not free from is the presence of sin. This explains the phrase made famous by Martin Luther, Simil iustus et peccator, which, simply put in English, means that we can be simultaneously righteous and sinners. In Christ, we have been made righteous, but we still live in a world full of sin.
So what's the point? If we can't be perfect, why should we try? That's where the fault is. We are free from the power of sin because of Jesus, and he can tell us to go therefore and sin no more. Jesus's first call is for proximity, but he doesn't call us to him so we can live a life of sin. He calls us to him so we can learn from him and truly live out our calling on the earth.
The best example there is for how this ties in to the line is alcohol, of all things. Many people drink without getting drunk. There is nothing wrong with that. But how do they do it? There are only two ways. The either stay far away from their limit, or they know their limit because they have exceeded it before. In the same way, how far can we go with sin before we have gone too far? The only way to find out is to go too far. It is simply wiser to avoid the risk entirely.
Regardless of what you are struggling with, it is important to know that Jesus lived the perfect life we were incapable of living and died the death we deserved. Your sins have been paid for. Don't take that news as an excuse to run from Jesus. The first call, after all, is proximity. To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. Not because you have not sinned, but because you have been drawn near, you may go therefore and sin no more.
"And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" --Luke 9:23
As Christians in a broken world, many would say it is completely impossible to be in the world and not of it. And besides, what difference does it make that we try to avoid submerging in sin if we are knee deep in it anyway? Some book makes a mockery of my worldview, but it doesn't change it. Why shouldn't I read it? Some movie is completely inappropriate, but I know what is right and what is wrong, so why shouldn't I watch it? When it seems that no one else in the world cares about holiness, where else can you turn? And why does it matter?
When Jesus first called his disciples, he didn't immediately demand perfection. His first call was for proximity. "Come follow me," he said. It was that simple. Naturally, as we follow Jesus, we should become more like him. But even at the cross, Jesus's message was not that we should be perfect and therefore we might be accepted. The message of the cross is that we are accepted, and therefore we can be perfect. If acceptance required perfection of our own accord, there would be no need for the cross. Jesus willingly went to the cross because we cannot be perfect on our own, and he went knowing even before taking on all of our sin that we would sin anyway, and that the world will not be completely sin-free until he returns for the formation of the new heaven and new earth
In this world we are not free of sin. That has been established through scripture, through common sense, and through day-to-day struggles with sin. We are not free of sin, but in Christ we are free from it. That is a purpose of the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it is the hope we have in him. From the moment Christ said, "It is finished," we have been free from both the power and the penalty of sin. The only thing we are not free from is the presence of sin. This explains the phrase made famous by Martin Luther, Simil iustus et peccator, which, simply put in English, means that we can be simultaneously righteous and sinners. In Christ, we have been made righteous, but we still live in a world full of sin.
So what's the point? If we can't be perfect, why should we try? That's where the fault is. We are free from the power of sin because of Jesus, and he can tell us to go therefore and sin no more. Jesus's first call is for proximity, but he doesn't call us to him so we can live a life of sin. He calls us to him so we can learn from him and truly live out our calling on the earth.
The best example there is for how this ties in to the line is alcohol, of all things. Many people drink without getting drunk. There is nothing wrong with that. But how do they do it? There are only two ways. The either stay far away from their limit, or they know their limit because they have exceeded it before. In the same way, how far can we go with sin before we have gone too far? The only way to find out is to go too far. It is simply wiser to avoid the risk entirely.
Regardless of what you are struggling with, it is important to know that Jesus lived the perfect life we were incapable of living and died the death we deserved. Your sins have been paid for. Don't take that news as an excuse to run from Jesus. The first call, after all, is proximity. To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Jesus. Not because you have not sinned, but because you have been drawn near, you may go therefore and sin no more.
"And he said to all, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.'" --Luke 9:23
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
A Review of The Fault In Our Stars
The following may contain spoilers, okay? Okay.
The Fault In Our Stars is, as you well know, a popular novel and recent film adaptation about two young cancer patients who fall in love, only to find that love extinguished by an untimely, yet predictable death. So why do people love this story so much? What makes it stand out from other stories of cancer and shattered love?
One of the most common answers to such questions is the basic idea that the story is appealing because it's "real life." Whereas most novels portray cancer as a walk in the park, The Fault In Our Stars describes cancer patients as a side effect of a mutation that was supposed to make humans, who happened by chance, more diverse. Excuse me for arguing that neither of those portrayals are correct. I am not speaking from experience because I don't have cancer. But I know from friends and family members who have experienced it that it isn't pretty or easy. This book describes that portrayal as "sugarcoating," which is probably a fair description. But although TFIOS most definitely doesn't sugarcoat anything, I simply don't understand how you could call it honesty. This book incorrectly conveys normal teenagers, cancer patients, and life in general. No such thing should be praised for its reality.
Another aspect of the book I have found to be popular is the narrator, Hazel, and her outlook on life, death, and the world. Some of the most quoted lines of the book are about inevitable oblivion, vanity of life, and the question of afterlife. Everything she says is out of an agnostic point of view. Readers find this appealing because it changes the ideas of living, dying, and life after that. But I don't find this healthy for Christians, or for anyone else. I would not encourage anyone to read a book about how life is pointless, worthless, and insignificant, because that simply isn't true. If a book or film started out by saying, "The following content is largely negative and largely false," no one would waste time reading it. But this book claims to be telling the truth about the fact that life means nothing, death is all we amount to, and the world is just a chance happening that will one day end in oblivion. The intended audience of this book (that is to say, teenaged fanatics of emotional roller coaster novels) go into it believing they are reading a variation of the truth, when in fact Romans 1 says it is the opposite of the truth; a suppressing of the truth. Teens are being lied to, as they often are, about the truth in theology. In this book, teens are also being lied to about being lied to. How can one make a positive spin on that?
The Fault In Our Stars was incredibly well-written and dripping with emotional appeal. Isn't that what you want in a good book? Perhaps, but a book this extreme in its worldview and incomplete truth is not healthy for young readers, or for any readers at all. Scripture contradicts this book, and so does every positive moral in the world. Humans are NOT insignificant, cancer patients are NOT side effects, and oblivion is NOT inevitable. Any book that claims otherwise shouldn't be read, recommended, and definitely not praised in the way The Fault In Our Stars has been these past few months.
The Fault In Our Stars is, as you well know, a popular novel and recent film adaptation about two young cancer patients who fall in love, only to find that love extinguished by an untimely, yet predictable death. So why do people love this story so much? What makes it stand out from other stories of cancer and shattered love?
One of the most common answers to such questions is the basic idea that the story is appealing because it's "real life." Whereas most novels portray cancer as a walk in the park, The Fault In Our Stars describes cancer patients as a side effect of a mutation that was supposed to make humans, who happened by chance, more diverse. Excuse me for arguing that neither of those portrayals are correct. I am not speaking from experience because I don't have cancer. But I know from friends and family members who have experienced it that it isn't pretty or easy. This book describes that portrayal as "sugarcoating," which is probably a fair description. But although TFIOS most definitely doesn't sugarcoat anything, I simply don't understand how you could call it honesty. This book incorrectly conveys normal teenagers, cancer patients, and life in general. No such thing should be praised for its reality.
Another aspect of the book I have found to be popular is the narrator, Hazel, and her outlook on life, death, and the world. Some of the most quoted lines of the book are about inevitable oblivion, vanity of life, and the question of afterlife. Everything she says is out of an agnostic point of view. Readers find this appealing because it changes the ideas of living, dying, and life after that. But I don't find this healthy for Christians, or for anyone else. I would not encourage anyone to read a book about how life is pointless, worthless, and insignificant, because that simply isn't true. If a book or film started out by saying, "The following content is largely negative and largely false," no one would waste time reading it. But this book claims to be telling the truth about the fact that life means nothing, death is all we amount to, and the world is just a chance happening that will one day end in oblivion. The intended audience of this book (that is to say, teenaged fanatics of emotional roller coaster novels) go into it believing they are reading a variation of the truth, when in fact Romans 1 says it is the opposite of the truth; a suppressing of the truth. Teens are being lied to, as they often are, about the truth in theology. In this book, teens are also being lied to about being lied to. How can one make a positive spin on that?
The Fault In Our Stars was incredibly well-written and dripping with emotional appeal. Isn't that what you want in a good book? Perhaps, but a book this extreme in its worldview and incomplete truth is not healthy for young readers, or for any readers at all. Scripture contradicts this book, and so does every positive moral in the world. Humans are NOT insignificant, cancer patients are NOT side effects, and oblivion is NOT inevitable. Any book that claims otherwise shouldn't be read, recommended, and definitely not praised in the way The Fault In Our Stars has been these past few months.
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