This is a guest post on my blog today by my friend Morgan Robertson. Morgan is a deep thinker with a stunning mind and a beautiful heart for God. She shared this concept with me the other day after she finished reading my Christian romantic suspense novel, Finding Freedom. I asked her to pen these profound thoughts into a post I could share with my readers – enjoy!
“All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:3-4)
I’ve read numerous novels in my lifetime. Romance, science fiction, dystopian fiction; you name it. Though the books themselves differ from each other, one thing they all have in common is that I don’t know the author personally. Sarah Dessen, Jane Austen, Toni Morrison, Agathe Christie, Phillip K Dick, I don’t know a single one of them.
I never really thought about that until I read a book by someone I do know personally. When you read a novel or any piece of writing by someone you’ve had the pleasure of meeting and talking to, you start to see their personality, their identity in their works.
I just finished reading Britney Lyn Hamm’s debut novel, Finding Freedom. Though the plot and characters are not fashioned after her own life, I can still see evidence of her authorship throughout the novel. From the way she constructed the plot (I won’t spoil it for those who haven’t read it yet) to the development of the characters down to the nitty gritty of vocabulary choices, I could definitely tell that Britney is the author of the story. Many of her characters share some of her likes – mocha lattes, dance, music, her Lord and Savior. Some of the characters share her own abilities – Jeremy and Lila, for example, were excellent Biblical counselors, a skill I know Britney uses for the Lord. Through every dialogue, every thought monologue, every description of places, food, events, you can so clearly see the author of Finding Freedom showing herself through her work.
I couldn’t help but draw the beautiful parallel between knowing the author of Finding Freedom and knowing the 
Author of Life. Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, has created a beautiful masterpiece of a novel with an incredible plot, insane character development, and amazing words spoken at just the right time. Throughout human history, you can see the Lord’s hand moving, writing, authoring the story of mankind. His kindness and mercy show through as well as His justice and righteous jealousy. The characters in His work reflect many of His own attributes – kindness, mercy, justice, righteous anger, love, morality. His characters are so fearfully and wonderfully crafted in His image.
God is a magnificently talented Creator and Author of Life. I imagine if we relinquish the pen more frequently, He’d use our lives to author an incredible story full of His love, redemption, mercy, and grace.
My question is this: Would Britney’s influence in her novel have been obvious to me had I not known her? The influence would still be there, the text would remain the same, but I wouldn’t have noticed it as much. I might have been able to piece together an idea of the author, but it wouldn’t be nearly as nuanced or detailed; just a vague sense of how this author differs from others.
In the same way, God’s influence on Creation as the Author of Life throughout human history has always been and will always be there. We just don’t really see it unless we know Him and His personality. At times, we can piece together a vague sense of some greater being behind it all, but the details are lost unless you seek to find out more.
At the end of her book, Britney has an open invitation for you to know the backstory of her choices. In her author’s note, she explains her love for Ireland, Maine, lighthouses, etc. She’s opened a door into her identity and has made her choices clearer for her readers.
God gives us the same author’s note invitation to know Him in His Word – The Bible. He reveals His motives for the choices He’s made throughout the story of human history. He reveals the reason for the overarching plot, the climactic moment of His Son dying on the cross. He shows us His personality and how it affects the characters of the story, bringing some to complete repentance and others to total depravity and the hardening of their hearts. If you find yourself with some vague sense of who God is, both God and I invite you to dig deeper into Him. “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.” (Jer. 29:13).
Authoring a novel is another of many ways in which humans reflect the beautiful reality of how God works and who God is. This analogy can certainly be developed further, but I’ll let it rest with this simple invitation: seek Him and find Him throughout the masterfully told story of humanity.
Looking for a good book to read? Grab your copy of Finding Freedom – both ebook and paperback are available. If you order the paperback directly from my site, use the code FFRELEASE for 5% and free shipping or FFLOCAL for 20% off local pickup orders. And please, leave a review on Amazon when you’re done reading!
Earth Photo by NASA on Unsplash
Quill & Paper Photo by Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash
Bible & Water Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash