hope

I recently lamented to a friend that Christian writing (movies, novels, etc.) rarely makes its point as powerfully or as beautifully as secular media. Unfortunately, Christian media often comes off a bit, well… lame. And today I think I might have found one reason why.

I have decided to invest some time into honing my skills as a writer, and in my reading today I came across a bit of advice that I'm finding a bit hard to swallow. The author of the article, specifically addressing Christian writers, advised that we keep things positive. Even when describing difficult or painful events, try to avoid being too negative. He said, further, that what people are really looking for is hope.

Now, on one hand, I agree with him. What the world desperately needs more than anything else today is hope. And not just hope in some vague, feel-good platitude. The world needs to know the Hope that only comes from knowing the eternal God of creation.

Further, what the world does NOT need more of is ugliness. I do not understand artists who make works of darkness and despair in the name of being "real"—adding to the already heavy burden of sadness that the average individual bears. It is a personal quest of mine to be a source of beauty in this tragic world.

However, if we hesitate to paint the blacks to their full darkness, fail to dive down into the depths of human suffering, shrink back from staring evil in the face and unmasking it, then we give the impression that we are out of touch with the actual state of the world. That we are ill equipped to deal with reality. We paint a pristine Pollyanna scenery with which most people cannot relate. Worse yet, we communicate that the Answer we have is not potent enough to handle the grimmest facts of life.

Granted, some scoff at us for even offering any answer at all. That we DO have hope, that there IS a Salvation, that the whole story really DOES come out "happily ever after" discredits us immediately in their eyes.

But knowing that they already hold that against us, wouldn't we be more conscientious to state the rest of our case in as convincing a way as possible? Glossing over or cleaning up the messiness of life does serious damage to our credibility.

It is my hope one day to write a God-centered story that grips even the hardest heart with both the agony and beauty of life, the harsh edge of reality softened by the absolute certainty of redemption.