My lifelong dream was to be an author (as well as a million other things- at the top of the list, a homeschool mom). Never did I imagine how difficult it could actually be to get a book published, even as a self-published author! I've been creating stories since I was little -even before I could write! I would draw pictures and tell my parents the story. Over the years I added more words to my picture books and went through a lot of pencils, crayons, composition books, tape, and packs of computer paper as I created at least a hundred stories -no joke!-. Then when I was in 9th grade, my wonderful parents, noting my strong interest in stories and writing, assigned me a Creative Writing course. The Exciting World of Creative Writing by Ruth E. McDaniel - I highly recommend it! That was when I wrote my first "book" -six full chapters with a few illustrations, an actual plot and characters, etc. That one still needs a LOT of work to be fit for public viewing if I were ever to decide to publish it. But it was a start. It was a prototype. And that was the start of my writing journey.
That was when I started writing To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain. I was twelve when I wrote the first draft. Much shorter and VERY different (kind of like me :)), but the main characters and the basic plot were pretty much the same. Over the years, as my writing developed and improved, so did this story. I worked on it off and on between other projects, always striving to make it better. If there was any way I thought I could convey the story better, then I did it: doing some basic spelling and grammar checking, rewording something so it made more sense, adding more historically accurate details, or delving deeper into the characters' thoughts and emotions as they took this very difficult and dangerous journey of faith.
In an age when a two-second Google search can bring Scripture verses to our fingertips, in a plethora of translations, it’s almost impossible to imagine what it would be like for the Bible to be forbidden to us, what it would be like to have to suffer for possessing even a portion of the Scriptures in our own languages. When we drive down any road and see scores of churches and go inside of any one of them that we wish to, it boggles the mind to think of being required to attend one official state church and paying severe consequences for choosing differently.
In the centuries following the birth of the early church, Christianity became the official, preferred religion. In this situation, with no persecution, there proved to be danger. True faith melted into ritualistic religion. Pagan rituals were mixed in with Christian teachings until the original Gospel was almost unrecognizable. Church and state became inseparable; the church controlled taxes, laws, and every other aspect of life. The Bible was frozen in time, and remained in Latin –a language which hardly anyone knew– even as the native languages throughout Europe continued to change.
In every century, there were reformers and small groups who sprang up, determined to return to a more Biblical faith. There were the Waldenses in the 1200s. there was Jan Hus in the 1400s, whose followers became known as Moravians and were the founders of modern missions. Heavy persecution always fell upon these groups, nearly exterminating them.
In the 1500s, there was an influx of reform which could no longer be contained. Europe was headed for irreversible reform, especially because, in this century, the Bible could be printed, making it much more accessible. Now, if someone translated the Bible into the common language, there was virtually no stopping its spread. And there was no shortage of reformers. There was Martin Luther, in Germany. Ulrich Zwingli, in Switzerland. And dozens of radical groups known as “Anabaptists.” While Luther and Zwingli were condemned as heretics and threatened, they were eventually left alone in their own territories as they gained political support and formed their own official state religions. Little groups like the Anabaptists, who wanted a true faith rather than a state religion, continued to be hunted down. Only now, there were three state religions who sought their annihilation.
We might think about all of this as we’re driving to church, with the latest hits by Christian artists blaring from the radio and the newest study edition of the Bible on the seat next to us, and we shake our heads, wondering how such things could ever have happened, and feeling glad that we don’t have to go through anything like that. But we shouldn’t be so comfortable. We need to look back to the days when Christianity was made official. Look at the danger that it caused then. And look at the churches today. So many are nothing more than clubs, adopting the latest fads and terminology to grow their audiences. Promoting false teachings that make people feel better about themselves rather than preaching the Gospel which will convict people of their sins. Don’t let your faith become a religion.
Freedom will not last forever we can look around the world and see that persecution is still very much real: China, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, Latin America. Our freedom here in America will not last forever.
Jesus will be returning soon. How many of us will be going through the motions of religion and how many of us will be in possession of a true faith and waiting for His return? Because only the latter will escape the wrath that is to come.
It took almost six years to finish this book. Like I said, it was first written when I was twelve years old. Over the years, I added more detail, developed the characters more, included historical facts, and improved my grammar, but the key events and players have remained the same, and the message that I wish to convey has not changed: Is a true faith worth living for, and, if so, is it worth dying for?
I hope that you will be able to answer that question for yourself, once you finish reading the book.
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