Recently, someone who I don’t know personally left a severely negative review on Amazon about the two books I have written. It was hard not to take these personally as there were two separate reviews on each of my two books left by the same people on the same day. As you can imagine, this was discouraging for me to say the least. It was hard to read these reviews without racking my brain as to who these people were and how my church leaders and I could have possibly disappointed them so greatly. As with most negative situations in life, I know that the enemy wants to use it to beat me down, but God wants to use it for good. If I’m honest, I’ve been insecure about publishing both of my books because I’m not Tim Keller or John Piper. Nobody commissioned me to write a book or even suggested that I should. So why did I?
nn
Until three years ago, I never had a single desire to write a book. I never even gave it a thought. It would have been in the same category for me as skydiving and flying to the moon. I just wasn’t interested. So what flipped the switch? How did I go from having no desire to write books to publishing two in a short period of time?
nn
It’s simple. God put a message in my heart, and I had to share it.
nn
Over the last few years, God has been teaching me something from his Word that has burned like a fire in my chest, and I believe with all my heart that he doesn’t want me to suppress it. This message has revolutionized my life—it’s changed the way I lead my home, my ministry, and every interaction with every person I meet. I haven’t mastered it, but I have given myself over to be mastered by it. This message is the central theme of the entire Bible, yet it’s one that is often overlooked or treated like an honorable-mention. This message is the love of God.
nn
God’s love was not just a motive to rescue the remnant; it is the wisdom of life. His love for humanity caused him to lay down his only Son, and our greatest response of gratitude is to love both God and humanity the way he did. We are not called to be comfortable but compassionate. We are not called to be pious but patient. We are not called to be greedy but generous. We are not called to be successful but selfless. We are called to imitate Jesus by walking in love.
nn
I believe with all my heart that God’s Word is clear. He is not impressed with our moral platitudes or cultural Christianity apart from the genuine love of God. I don’t have to guess what it is that God wants from me or for me. I know the answer. He wants me to love him wholeheartedly. He wants to fill me to the brim with his love until it spills out of me and touches my neighbor—my family, my friends, my peers, my enemies, my strangers—everyone. I demonstrate my love for God by loving people over everything else. God’s love is my purpose. It’s my hill.
nn
As for my books, they are simply a medium for the message. I have given them over to God so that I will neither be motivated by their success nor crushed by their negative reviews. If anything, these negative reviews have motivated me to know that the enemy is threatened by this message; so I should keep going full steam ahead. I don’t have any plans right now for a third book, but I won’t hesitate to write one if I feel that God wants me to. I’m unapologetic to promote my books because I believe the message is needed.
nn
If you have read either of my books and they have been helpful for you, please leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads to help the message go further. To the people in my life who have already been encouraging and supportive on my recent journey as an author, thank you so much! Your support and encouragement has been a blessing to me.